Fire Emblem: The Dark Stones
by Albedo238
Summary: A Year after the battle with Demon King, Magvel faces yet another crisis.  The Twins of Renais join forces with their old friends and few new ones on a new journey, and learn that things are not as they seem.
1. Prologue: The Dream

**Prologue: The Dream**

One year ago, Princess Eirika and Prince Ephraim, and their forces managed to stop the return of the evil Demon King. However, they lost their friend, Prince Lyon of Grado in the process. Yet, they persevered and went home as heroes. After the months of restoration to all of Magvel, Prince Ephraim was engaged to Frelia's Princess Tana, at the same time, his twin sister, Princess Eirika was to be married to her guardian knight, General Seth. Other engagements were starting as well: Joshua, who took his spot on the throne of Jehanna, took Natasha as his fiance, and Innes, prince of Frelia and older brother to Princess Tana, decided to take Vanessa of Frelia's pegasus knights as his upcoming bride-to-be. There were many others happening outside the area of royalty. The people of Magvel thought their newfound peace would last forever, but something else was stirring.

"Ephraaaaaaaim...Eirikaaaaaaaa...," a voice was calling out from an infinite darkness. "Ephraaaim...Eirikaaaaa...Can you hear meeeeee...?" Eirika and Ephraim found themselves in this dark void. The voice called out again, 'Pleaaaaaase...the two of you must listen to meeeeeee..." "That voice," Ephraim shouted out. "Lyon! Is that you!" Lyon replied to him, "Yesssss...It's meeeeee...Ephriaaaam...Eirikaaaaaa...Bewaaaaaare..." Eirika replied quickly to his message, "Beware of what! What is it that we should be aware of, Lyon!" "There is ooooooone...who will bring destructiooooooooon...to all of Maaaaaaaaagveeeeeellllll..." Eirika called to Lyon again, "You mean the Demon King?" Lyon responded quickly to Eirika's question, "Nooooooooooo...something wooooorssssse..." Ephraim, looking very shocked, called out to his late friend in a very loud tone, "What do you mean by 'something worse'!" "Allow me to show youuuuuuuu..." Lyon said for one last time before his voice disappeared. Suddenly, the twins were soon swept through a long, dark tunnel, passing through rings of light. After a while of that, Ephraim and Eirika found themselves in the air as they were surrounded by fluffy, white clouds. Eventually, they looked down to their amazement to see the entire continent of Magvel, as they were flying straight down to it. "Brother," Eirika said to Ephraim in a very nervous manner. "What's going on here?" Ephriam then replied to her, "I don't know, but I think we're about to find out." They continued to fly downward towards the continent, until they landed gently on the ground, which they found to be really odd. Ephraim and Eirika took a look at their surroundings to confirm that they were actually in Magvel, more specifically, in Renais. They walked around for awhile, until they were attacked by some strange, shadowy creatures. Eirika said with a scared expression, "Ephraim, what are those things? I've never seen them before." "I don't know," Ephraim responded. "But, if they're trying to hurt us, then we need to fight them off. Let's go!" The twins pulled out their respective weapons and began to fight off the creatures untill they took down the one that looked like their leader. They succeeded in driving them off. "Nice job there, Eirika. Let's continue on, hopefully without anymore distractions." "Right."

As they continued to walk, they came upon a horrifying sight: They saw what appeared to be the people of Magvel, but they were all stone. Some of them were friends and comrades of the twins. They saw them all: Forde, Kyle, Franz, Garcia, Ross, Amelia, Ewan, Artur, Lute, Innes, Saleh, Cormag, Joshua, Natasha, L'Arachel, Vanessa, Gerik, Marisa, Tethys, Duessel, Knoll, Syrene, Colm, Neimi, Myrrh, Dozla, Rennac, Moulder and Gilliam. They were really shocked to discover that even Seth and Tana were stone as well. "Seth!" Eirika called out in great sorrow and Ephriam followed after saying "Tana!" as he saw her amongst the petrified citizens. They were observing them as to find out what happened. "Ephraim," Eirika asked her brother as she was almost about to cry. "What happened here? Did an army of gorgons do this?" Ephraim responded to her question saying while observing the statue of Amelia, "I don't know, but, from the expression on their faces, it's looks like they were overcome with great fear." Just then, the sky began to grow very dark. Clouds were forming together to make one, big dark cloud. Suddenly, a red ball of light could be seen falling downwards toward the continent at a distance. "Hey, sis, do you see that?" Ephraim said to Eirika in a most curious manner. "What do you think it is?" Eirika quickly stated, "I...don't know." The ball of light was getting bigger as it drew closer. Suddenly, Ephraim had this weird feeling that it wasn't something very good. He grabbed a hold of Eirika's left arm and took her down with him as he was about to quickly lie down to avoid something. "Get down!" He quickly said very loud while he was doing this. Eirika didn't argue as she did as he said. After that, the ball, which was in fact massive in size, quickly crashed into the ground, creating a massive explosion. All of the statues of the people were destroyed immediately. "NO!" Eirika shouted as she was trying to reach out for them and Ephriam said, "Don't, Eirika! We can't save them now! Much less, ourselves!" The explosion engulfed the entire continent. To her surprise, Eirika was okay, as was Ephraim. Eirika looked around, and Ephraim did the same. Ephraim then said, "Eirika, are we alive?" "I...think...so." Eirika respond looking dazed, then started to talk again saying, "But what happened here?" They looked around with the most terrified expressions ever. The explosion turned Magvel into an entire burning wasteland. Everything, from the trees to the grass and flower fields were burnt to a smoldering cinder. Ephraim then said as if he was overcome with enormous grief, "This is...TERRIBLE! It's all been destroyed!" As they continued to observe the apocalypse that was once their homeland, a bright yet sinister-looking glow came out from the sky, lighting up the clouds in dark red. Within an aura of evil energy, they saw the silhouette of the figure of a man with long hair and six massive wings on his back in the sky. "Who is that?" Eirika asked her brother though she wasn't really expecting an answer. Ephraim found it hard to do so as he asked, "Was this what Lyon was warning us about?" The figure then lifted it's right arm above it's head. Opening it's hand, it created and surrounded itself in a column of evil power that began to grow wider. The twins could only look on in both curiosity and horror. Suddenly, everything began to slowly turn white...

To Be Concluded in Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 1: Warning Spreads Across Magvel

**Chapter 1: Warning Spreads Across Magvel**

Eirika awakes from her dream and runs to Ephraim's bedroom, but before she can get there, he burst through the door with a mortified look on his face. "Ephraim, did you also see the vision of our country's destruction?" Eirika said. "Yes, I did see it. We must not let this happen." Eirika sits down and starts crying. "We can't let this happen. We've gone through too much to let our country fall again." Ephraim replies, "I won't. As long as I live, Renais will not fall."

Eirika makes her way to see Seth to tell him about her dream. After she fills him in with the details, Seth says, "Eirika, we must warn all of the other countries in Magvel. Tomorrow I will ride to Frelia to warn Prince Innes and Princess Tana," and Eirika said to him "Let me ride with you." "No, you must head to Rausten to warn Princess L'arachel while your brother goes to Grado," responded Seth. "I can't stand to be without you while this is happening" Eirika said about to cry and Seth replied in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry milady, I will be back in three days."

The next day Eirika, Ephraim, Kyle (whom Seth told to go to Jehanna) and Seth embarked on their quest to warn the neighboring countries of impending doom. Three days pass and Eirika, Ephraim, and Kyle return to Renais only to find that Seth isn't there. Eirika runs around the castle looking for him but there is no sign. While in the throne room Ephraim ask Kyle what the status is for Jehanna and Kyle replies "Prince Joshua states that he and Jehanna will fight for us if anything is to happen." Ephraim said, "Good, we need as many as people we can get." Eirika comes into the throne room "Seth is nowhere to be found," she yells and Ephraim replies, "Calm down Eirika, I'll send word around Renais to be on the lookout for him." A few minutes later a lone swordsman comes into the room. Ephraim wearily ask him "who are you and what is your business here?" The swordsman brandishes his sword and says, "I'll leave that up for you to find out."

To Be Concluded in Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 2: The Twins Seperate

**Chapter 2: The Twins Seperate**

After the swordsman drew his sword, he said, "Okay, boys, it's playtime!" Soon, before Eirika, Ephraim and Kyle could react, the castle was filled to the brim with Fighters, Archers, Cavaliers, Mercenaries and Mages. One of the fighters came up to the swordsman and asked him, "What are your orders, Commander Jinkai?" "Simple," Jinkai responded. "Take no prisoners. KILL THEM ALL!" As the enemy soilders readied their attack positions, Eirika said in a paniced state, "What are we going to do, guys? There are so many of them." Kyle replied to her, "We have no choice. We've got to fight our way through." "Agreed," Ephraim stated to back him up and continued to talk saying, "Look, sis. I know it seems like the tides are against us, but we can't back down now. If we lose, then our nightmares will really come true." "You won't go it alone," A voice said out loud. Suddenly, from the back rooms, Forde and Franz appeared, taking down a few of the bandits that were in their path. Kyle said with a look of surprise, "Forde! Franz! What are you two doing here? I thought you were heading for Carcino." "Yeah, we were, but our path got blocked off," Forde said with a smirk and Franz said after him, "There were mercenaries surrounding the entire borderline. We didn't have enough power to fight our way through, so we decided it would be best to retreat back to here." "Well, whatever the case," Ephraim said with a smile. "It's good to have your help." His smile quickly faded to a look of determination and said, "Now, let's take care of these knaves!" "We shall see, won't we?" Jinkai said with a crooked grin then he yelled out, "ATTACK!" The two opposing forces started to fight. Though the bandits were larger in number, Ephraim's forces were more skilled and they cut a swath through them. Eventually, it came down to a square off between Ephraim and Eirika's company, and Jinkai. Kyle stepped up to him and asked him in a demanding voice saying, "Why are you guys doing this! Who are you working for! What's your motive!" "Geez, what's with all the questions," Jinkai said with an annoyed look and continued to talk. "Let's just enjoy our little game, okay? But don't get too cocky, as you'll see that I'm a lot tougher than those grunts you fought." Jinkai jumped out at Kyle, trying to take a swing at him, but he missed. Kyle retaliated with a swipe from his axe. Jinkai dodged the blow just in time. As he backflipped away from the angered knight, Jinkai said to him with a grin, "I see you weren't made a Knight of Renais for nothing, but let's see if you can stop this!" Jinkai took a very strange yet elegant-looking stance right before he quickly charged for Kyle with his sword held out in front of him. Kyle was about to strike him with his lance, but just then, before he could attack, Jinkai quickly moved to his right saying, "Too slow." After saying that, he swiped the side of Kyle's right arm. Blood started to ooze from the wound as Kyle grabbed it in pain. "Kyle!" Eirika shouted with a look of extreme worry on her face and he replied to her, "I'm fine." "Oh dear," Jinkai said after his attack on Kyle. "I think I held too much power back there. With a little more precision, I would have chopped your whole arm off." Hearing this, Ephraim gripped his lance with rage and shouted out to the crooked swordfighter as to threaten his very existance, "I'll show you precision, you lunatic! I'm going to kill you!" "Bring it on," Jinkai said back to him. The two warriors rushed at each other in full-force. They got into a big battle, blocking, parrying and countering each others' attacks, but unable to land a hit on one another. After Jinkai jumped out of the way of Ephraim's thrust attack, Forde and Franz came in to try and stop him, but even their exceptional sword arms and swift horses couldn't get the better of Jinkai's agility. After that, Eirika lashed out her rapier to take a swipe at him. He was barely able to block all of her swift attacks. "Not bad there, sweetheart," Jinkai said as if he was trying to hit on her. "You have a nice sense of elegance about you, but sometimes, grace needs to take a back seat to good old fashion brutality." Upon after saying that, he threw her sword off of him with his, then he did a jumping backflip, kicking Eirika in her breastplate in the process, which knocked her down. As Jinkai landed, he took a few steps towards Eirika and said to her, "You know, I really could go for a girl like you." She replied to him, "Sorry, but I already have a fiance." "Yes, I have heard that," Jinkai said with a pretend-look of sadness, but then said with a smile, "Oh well, time to die." Just as he was about to land the killing blow on Renais's future queen, Ephraim appeared right over him, yelling as if he was experiencing an adrenaline rush. Ubknownst to Jinkai, Ephraim started to climb the curtains of the castle windows during his fight with Eirika. Ephraim had leaped off the curtain when he saw his sister in danger. As he did, Ephraim was about to hit Jinkai with a downward thrust. Jinkai stepped out of the way, but Ephraim backed it up with a hit from the butt of his lance right into Jinkai's chin. The hit stunned the bandit for awhile, giving Ephraim enough time to do a veritcal swip across his chest. The attack made it's mark, giving Jinkai a fatal blow. He fell to his knees and said right before dying, "Does...this mean that...I'm not worthy...?. He collapsed on the ground, face-down, and a pool of blood started to form underneath his corpse. Afterwards, Eirika got back up to her feet. "Thanks, brother," she said with a sincere smile and, smiling, he replied back to her, "No problem. You would've done the same for me." Soon, after their friendly exchange, they went to see Kyle, who was still hurt. Ephraim took a look at the wound on his arm and asked, "Are you going to be okay?" "I'll live. I've had much worse." Franz then started to rummage around in his satchel and pulled out a vulneraery. "Here, Kyle," said the young knight. "This should help." Kyle gave Franz a silent thank you and dabbed some of the medicine onto his wound, which mended it quickly.

After their fight with the bandits, Ephraim, Eirika and the three kights stepped outside of the castle. "I guess...it's already begun," Ephraim stated after the intense battle inside the palace, and Eirika asked him, "What do we do now, Ephraim? Seth still hasen't returned, there's no way to get to Carcino at this point, and we've no idea what's going on in the other nations." Ephraim thought to himself for a moment then said, "We need to split up. We can cover more ground that way. Eirika, you and Franz should go to Grado to join with their forces while Forde and Kyle will go with me to see what's happening in Frelia." "I agree," Eirika said as she knew what had to be done. Ephraim then smilied and said, "Good. We're all in agreement." Soon, a familiar voice called to the group of five. "Ephraim! Eirika!" They all looked up to see that it was Princess Tana of Frelia. "Princess Tana," Kyle said right before her pegasus landed and continued on. "Why are you here? And, where are the rest of Frelia's forces?" Tana replied to him whle stepping off of her pegasus saying, "There's a problem. We're being attacked! By what, I don't know. They're not like the monsters we fought last year. These new kind of creatures seem...well-organized." "Monsters again!" Ephraim said with a look of dismay on his face, and Tana replied, "Yes, but much different this time. Innes told me to find you guys and tell you of this. Please, they won't hold out much longer!" "I understand, Tana, thank you," said Ephraim and then turned to Eirika, saying to her, "Sis, we have to hurry as quickly as possible." "Right!" As the groups got ready to go their seperate ways, they readied their steeds and got some supplies together for their trips. "Ephraim, you take care, okay?" Eirika asked him and he replied with a warm smile saying, "We've done this before Eirika. We'll be alright. We just have to have faith in ourselves and each other. If we lose that, then their's no hope for the world. Rest assured, we'll see each other again, and I'll especially do my best to find Seth, and see that he's alright." Eirika nodded as her eyes were starting to tear up. The two groups got ready to go down their different paths. Ephraim waved good-bye to Eirika as he, Forde, Kyle and Tana got ready to go to Frelia, and Eirika waved back to him. After they were far away from her sight, she turned to Franz and said, "It's time for us to get going." Franz nodded and the both of them were headed off to Grado. A new adventure was beginning. One that would determine the fate of the entire world.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

**Chapter 3: The Journey Begins**

Ephraim, Tana, Forde, and Kyle begin their journey towards Frelia. Riding through a forest, Tana starts whispering to Ephraim about their wedding plans. "Uhhh! I can't believe this! I don't mind getting married on the same day as your coronation as king, but we have to postpone it because of this threat," Tana said. "I understand how you feel and I'm sorry about this. I can't control the world you know," Ephraim replied. During their conversation, Forde rides closer and closer to get in on the situation. Tana started to talk again saying, "Listen to me Ephraim; I really don't need to hear this from you right now. Think about it for a second. We have to cancel the caterers; we have to replace the dead flowers, we…." Ephraim stops her from talking "Listen, I'm sorry, and all that matters is that I love you," Ephraim said in a romantic voice. "SPEAK UP, LOVEBIRDS! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Forde shouted. Ephraim's face then was covered in a red veil of embarrassment. Tana also blushed. "Forde, SHUT UP!" said Kyle. "Come on, I'm just picking," replied Forde.

They decide to stop and rest in Ide until morning. In the middle of the night, Ephraim hears some noise coming from downstairs. "Are you sure this is where they are staying?" asked a mysterious voice. "Yes boss, they are upstairs," replied a different voice. Ephraim jumped out of bed and ran out to find that they were ambushed by a band of bandits. Ephraim runs into Kyle and Forde's room to wake them. "Get up, we've been discovered by some bandits," Ephraim said quietly. Ephraim turned around to find that the bandits were making their way upstairs. He ran into his room, grabbed his lance and ran to the head of the stairs to fend them off. From below the stairs he saw a big figure come into the doorway. Kyle and Forde ran from their rooms and joined Ephraim. They ran down and started fighting them off. Ephraim glanced down the stair case to find that the big figure was also fighting the bandits along with another person. The fight finally progressed outside. After the bandits were killed, Ephraim walked towards the two people that helped them only to find out that it was Ross and his father Garcia. "It's been a long time. How have you two been?" Ephraim exclaimed. Garcia replied "Pretty good now that those bandits are gone from our village. We've been tracking them all week, but we were just too outnumbered." "But now with you guys, we've taken them out with ease. My skills are starting to even impress myself," Ross said. "Son, you still have much to learn." Garcia said laughing. Ephraim looks around and notices a mysterious looking man standing in the shadows. "Show yourself where we can see you!" Ephraim shouted. The man looked up and Ephraim noticed an eerie purple glow emanate from his eyes. The man replied, "Sure, young and future king of Renais." The man started running towards Ephraim, pulling out a sword. Ephraim dodged his feeble attempt to strike him, and countered by thrusting his lance towards his legs to hopefully disable him. The man kicked the lance to the ground and jumped off of it into the air. In the air, the man started chanting. As time progressed, the chanting became more vigorously, and then a ball of dark energy rushed towards Ephraim. Ephraim ran to his left but the ball just chased him. Ephraim tried to shake it off but nothing worked. He then decided to try and make the ball hit the man. Ephraim ran to a small cottage and leaped to the roof and did a back flip and went over the man. The ball followed and hit the man in his back. The ball imploded and the man fell to the ground. Ephraim walked up to him and asked, "Who are you, and who sent you?" "That doesn't matter, Prince Ephraim. Your time is coming, and when it arrives, there is nothing you can do!" The man's body crumbled and turned into a pile of purple dust, and blew away in the wind. In amazement Forde said "Prince Ephraim, look at the bandits' eyes!" Ephraim looked around and noticed that all of the dead bandits' eyes started to glow purple then the bodies turned into that same purple dust and blew away. "I wonder if those were real people we fought." Ephraim wondered. Tana then walked outside and said, "What was all that noise out here?" Ephraim explained, and they went back to bed. Next morning, they packed up and got ready to head out. Garcia and Ross came to see them off. "Do the two of you want to come with us?" Ephraim asked. Garcia replied, "I'd like to, but instead, take Ross with you." "Father? You want me to go without you? What about Ide?" Ross said. "Don't worry, I've got everything under control here." Garcia assured him. "Ok then dad. I'll make you proud." Ross said. They continued their journey to Frelia only wondering who those bandits were, and what will happen next.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 4: A New Terror

**Chapter 4: A New Terror**

The scene takes place in the inside of an old mansion. An enigmatic, hooded person slowly walks forward down a starcase then on the floor of the main lobby. The person stops and speaks in a feminine voice saying, "Are you all here?" "Yes, we are," came the sound of a man. Suddenly, walking somewhat near the cloaked woman's location were a Sage, a Valkyrie, a Ranger, a Falcoknight, a Wyvern Lord and a Swordmaster. After they had stopped, the hooded woman turned around and said, "Master, they have assembled for you." "Good," came a voice that was elegant, yet curt. In the shadows, there stood what appeared to be a man. Only his silhouette was visible as he was standing on the staircase, which was barely lit. The man started to talk again, saying, "It's good to see that you've all made it, soldiers of the continent of Serris." The man took a few more steps down, but could still not be seen all that well. "I see here we have the three Brothers of the Earth," the man started to say. As he said their names one by one, each one took a bow to the name he called. "Chester." The Wyvern Lord bowed. "Damon." The Ranger bowed. "And, Emanuel." The Swordmaster bowed. Afterwards, the mysterious man turned to the three women, and spoke to them saying, "...And here, we have the three Sisters of the Heavens." Then, he spoke to them, just like he did with the men. "Ingrid." The Falcokngiht bowed. "Molly." The Valkyrie bowed. "And, Phyllis." The Sage bowed. After the man was done addressing the six people, he looked at all of them and said, "I trust you all know why you are here. You are to eliminate those who would threaten me and my plans. As we speak, Prince Ephraim is on his way to Frelia while Princess Eirika is making her way to Grado. We would do best to take care of those two first before we try to overtake Jehanna and Rausten." "So what are we to do," asked Ingrid and the man replied, "You are to await my orders untill further notice. That is all for now." The man left, afterwards, as did the mysterious woman. The three men that the man called the 'Brothers of the Earth' huddled around and started to talk to each other. "So, what do you guys think," asked Emanuel as he started off the conversation. "Do you think we can really trust him?" Chester replied, "I don't know. He does seem somewhat a little shady. What about you, Damon?" "Who cares," said the Ranger. "Together, with the Sisters of the Heavens, we're the strongest soldiers from our continent. Besides, we owe that man our lives. If it hadn't been for him, we'd...," "Yes, I know," Chester said, interrupting Damon's speech and continued to talk, "It's all because of him that we are here today." After that, the scene switched over to the three women, known as the 'Sisters of the Heavens' as they too huddled together and began talking. The Falcoknight named Ingrid began the conversation by saying, "Well, ladies, I hope you're ready." "Yes, ma'am!" shouted both Molly and Phyllis. Molly then came up to the Falcoknight and said, "But, Ingrid, do you really think Ephraim and Eirika, as well the other nation leaders are really evil, just like that man said to us?" "I don't know," answered Ingrid then Phyllis came up to say, "You know, I heard that Prince Ephraim is really handsome. I wonder if we could spare his life to convert him over to our side. That way, he and I could..." Molly then came in to say, "Sorry, Phyllis, but I heard he's already engaged to Frelia's Princess Tana." The young Sage replied, "Aww, Molly, you don't have to go and crush my fantasies like that. *sigh*" "Alright, that's enough you two," Ingrid snapped. "None of that is important. What is important is that we defeat them, then 'he' will bring glory back to our homeland, understood?" "Yes, ma'am!" the other two girls replied.

As Eirika and Franz continued their long journey to Grado through the village of Lark, Franz started to notice that Eirika had a humdrum look about her. "Princess Eirika," the young knight asked. "Is something wrong?" Eirika replied saying, "Oh...no, there's nothing wrong with me." Franz then said, "You can't hide it from me, princess. I know you're worried about Seth. I am too. Aside from Forde, General Seth has been like a brother to me, and I'd hate to think what would happen if he..." "Please, don't say it, Franz," Eirika quickly interrupted him. "Seth will return. I know he will. I musn't give into despair, like Ephraim said." Franz smilied and nodded as Princess Eirika refilled him with confidence in his supreme commander. Just then, two people appeared up to where Eirika and Franz were. It was Colm and Neimi, two more friends of the twins of Renais. "Hello, Princess," Colm said. "How've you guys been hanging?" Eirika then said to her surprise, "Colm! Neimi! What are the two of you doing here?" Neimi stepped forward and said, "We heard that you and Prince Ephraim saw the end of the world. Is it true? Is it, you know, *sniff*...going to happen? *sniff* Waaaahh!" Neimi started to cry loudly. "Aww, Neimi, don't cry, now!" Colm replied. "It's not like it's happening...yet. Besides, you might alert every bandit in a 10 mile radius to our position." "I'm sorry, *sniff*," Neimi said while trying to dry her tears and continued, "But, it's going to happen, right?" Eirika came up and said, "No, I will not allow that! All of us have done too much to restore order to our homeland. I don't care what we're up against, we are going to stop this." Colm smiled widly and said, "That's why we're here to join you." "Colm?" Eirika asked in a big suprise and Neimi replied, "That's right, we can't just let our home be destroyed. Besides, we've gotten so much stronger since our fight with the Demon King last year." Colm then started to talk again. "Don't you worry, milady. Whoever these guys are, they're going to be sorry they messed with us." Eirika was speechless as her friends were actually volunteering to help. "Thank you," she said and Franz replied, "We're more than happy to have your aid."

After Colm and Neimi joined with Eirika, Franz noticed something out in the distance. He saw someone running towards the small band of heroes. "Hey, princess," the young cavalier called out. "Who do you think is running towards us?" Eirika answered saying, "I don't know, but he sure seems to be in a hurry." Colm looked closely then came up next to Franz and said, "Wait! Isn't that Artur? What's going on with him?" Artur finally reached the group and said while trying to catch his breath, "Princess...Eirika! *beathes in heavily* Oh, bless the heavens! *breathing*" Eirika came up to him and said, "Artur, what's wrong? Why were you in such a hurry?" "It's Lute and Richard," said the tired clergyman. "They're in trouble. Some new kinds of monsters have them cornered. If we don't hurry and help them, they'll surely be killed." Eirika heard this and said, "Don't worry, Artur. We're not going to let that happen at all. Mark my words." "Thank you, milady," Artur said as he was going to join with them to save his friend and betrothed. After a while of riding, Eirika and her entourage finally made it to the area where the monsters were attacking. Artur was right as the monsters Eirika, Franz, Colm and Neimi saw that they were far different from any they had ever seen. Amongst them were half-human, half-lizard like beings wielding shields and axes, minotaurs and wolfmen. "What are these creatures," asked Franz in a horrified state. "I've never seen them before!" Suddenly, the lizard creature that appeared to be leading the monsters noticed Eirika's company and spoke to them saying in a hissing voice, "What do you want, humanssssss?" The group was shocked from what they heard. "You can talk?" Eirika asked him in an astounded tone and he replied, "Yessss, we are not like the fiendssssss led by the Demon King. We have our own will. Now, you would do besssst to get out of our way." One of the minotaurs came up to the lizardman and said, "Hey, wait, isn't that Pincess Eirika?" "Hey, I think you're right," said a wolfman. "Our lucky day, heh heh. The master wants her dead. Besides, we get to have a little fresh meat in our diet. Whaddya' say, Zana? Let's take'em while they're still nice and tender." This caused Neimi to hide behind Colm in fear of being eaten. Eirika and Franz readied their weapons, and Artur was prepared for a magical assault. "Well, then," the lizardman named Zana said. "Looksssss like we have bussssinessssss with you, afterall, hee hee. ATTAAAAAAACK!" "Charge!" yelled Eirika as her group got to counter the rushing pack of monsters. Eirika and Franz brandished their blades against the creatures. The monsters were ferocious, but the princess and knight were able to take them down. Artur hit a group of wolfmen, lizardmen and a minotaur with a powerful blast of light magic. Neimi was launching arrows, hitting every monster that came into her range of vision. Suddenly, a minotaur appeared behind Nemi. As she saw him, she screamed as it was about to kill her. Just then, Colm jumped on it's back and said, "Whoa there, Bessy!" "Get off of me, you stinking human," yelled the beast and Colm replied, "Not before I do THIS!" Colm shoved his dagger into the minotaur's throat. Blood started to leak from the fatal wound after Colm removed his weapon. As the minotaur began to collapse, Colm jumped off of him, and did an ariel somersault. Right when the beast landed face-first on the ground, Colm landed on his feet, looked behind him at the dead monster and said to him, "Don't touch my woman!" Eirika was then in a showdown with Zana. As their weapons clanged against each other's, Zana spoke to her. "Very good, princessssss. Your sssskillssssss are very impressssssive. Remindssssss me of when I wassssss human." "What!" Eirika said shocked again. "You were human?" Zana replied, "Oopsssss! Guessssss I almossssst let the cat out of the bag." As Zana made a quick rush for Eirika, he tried to swing for her head, but she ducked out of the way and stabbed him in the heart. Zana dropped his axe and shield, and started to stumble backwards. "Guessssss...thissss...isssssss...it for...me." Suddenly, he exploded into a purple cloud of dust. The same happened with the corpses of the other monsters. Eirika didn't know how to make heads or tails of this. Artur then went looking around, calling out for his friends. "Lute! Richard! Can you hear me!" Just then, out of a small storm cellar came a young girl with purple hair and green mage clothing. "Artur!" she said out loud. Artur turned around, and said, "Lute!" Artur and Lute ran up and hugged each other tightly. A priest with maroon hair and a beige robe with a green sash came out, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Artur, my friend." Artur looked to see it was his friend, Richard. "I'm glad to see that you're okay, as well, Richard," Artur said smiling himself. Eirika approached the three friends. "I'm glad to see that you guys are alright," Eirika said to them. "But, tell me, Lute. Have you seen those kinds of monsters before?" Lute replied, "Yes, but they're only supposed to be a part of fairy tales. Those creatures aren't even supposed to be the Demon King's servants, or real, for that matter." Eirika said, "That's what that lizard-like creature said. He said he was different from the monsters that served under the Demon King. That they could think for themselves." Lute pondered that thought and said, "I must say, I'm dumbfounded. Even so, I think we would like to join with you. After all, you guys are going to need my brilliant and impressive skills." "I concur," said Artur. "Besides, after the vision you and Prince Ephraim had, we can't just stand idly by while everything is in danger of being extinct." Richard stepped forth and said, "I think I shall join with you as well. I am most sure this is a blessed sign from the heavens that tells me this is what I am meant to do." "Thank you," Eirika said. "We need everyone's support for this. Right now, we're on our way to join with Grado's forces. We must hurry!" And, with that, they were on their way.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 5.


	6. Chapter 5: Assault at Border Mulan

**Chapter 5: Assault at Border Mulan**

Just outside of the mansion front, Chester and Ingrid were speaking together with each other. "So, Ingrid," Chester said to start off the conversation. "Are you ready for the battle coming up?" Ingrid replied with a smirk, "Of course, I'm always ready for anything that comes our way." She came a little closer to Chester and said, "But, Chester, do you really think that the leaders of Magvel are evil? Don't you think things seem a little fishy and out of place? I can't believe that the people we're supposed to fight could be the ones who destroyed the Demon King." "I understand your plight," answered Chester. "But, think about it for a moment. Don't you think things were strange that Serris was attacked without warning? What do you think the reason for that was, hmm, Ingrid?" Ingrid was silent as she couldn't answer. Chester continued talking. "Listen, all of us want more proof for a situation like this, but you have to remember that we're doing this for our home, for our families." "You're right," said Ingrid with a smile of reasurement. "That is all that matters as of right now. Thank you, Chester. My skepticism almost blinded me from our true objective. I'm grateful for that." Chester replied with a warm smile, "Don't worry about it." Ingrid started to look around and said, "By the way, have you seen the others? Where do suppose they are?" "I heard the master sent them on an important errand," Chester answered. "They shouldn't be gone too long." Ingrid said, "Hmm..."

After they had spent their day in Ide, Ephraim, Tana, Kyle and Forde, along with the aid Garcia's son, Ross started to hustle without any more delays. The finally made it to Frelia Castle. However, to everyone's surprise, there were no monsters surrounding the castle like Tana had exclaimed. "What," said Forde with a look of frustration. "Where are these monsters at? I don't see anything here. Hey, Princess Tana, are you absolutely sure that you saw them?" Tana felt insulted and said, "Of course, I saw them! Why else do you think I came to tell all of you about this?" Forde put on a disgusted look and Ephraim came in to say, "Alright, that's enough, both of you. It does look a battle took place, and a ferocious one, at that. Right now, I think it would be best for us to check the castle for survivors." "I agree," replied Kyle and Ross said, "Well, what are we all standing around here for? Let's go." The five of them went into the castle to check out everything. After an hour of searching, everyone went back outside. "Nothing," said Ephraim. "The place is completely empty." Tana looked worried saying, "What do you all think happened to them?" Kyle stepped in to reply. "Well, I don't think they've been killed, unless they disposed of the bodies, but then, we would have seen some traces of blood inside. The most logical answers would be that they either escaped and led the enemies somewhere else, or they've been captured." "I think you're right," Ephraim said as he agreed with Kyle's guesses. Just then, Ross noticed something in the distance to the east. "Hey, guys, I think I can see a pegasus knight with someone else," he shouted to the other four. It was Vanessa, along with another soldier riding with her. Once they landed, Tana went to greet them saying, "Vanessa! Clark! I'm so happy the two of you are alright. Where are the others?" "That's what we came to tell you, princess," Vanessa replied. Clark then came up to say, "Prince Innes got word that you, along with Prince Ephraim and the others were nearing Castle Frelia, so he sent us to give you word that he, Commander Gilliam and Father Moulder are being held up at Border Mulan. The monsters have them completely cornered there!" Vanessa stepped up to talk again. "What will you do, Prince Ephraim? The decision is yours." "What else?" Ephraim quickly replied. "We're going to help them." Forde looked shocked and said in a flabbergasted tone. "That's crazy! We don't know who or what these monsters are, or what they are capable of! It's literally suicide!" Kyle replied, "It's the right thing to do. We're not just going to stand here while their lives are at stake." "Yeah!" Ross said with enthusiam. "Besides, it's just one more way to show how much my skills with the axe have improved!" Ephraim then said, "Alright, let's move out! They need our help, and that's what they are going to get."

Meanwhile, at Border Mulan, Prince Innes was busy firing arrows from the window of the fort to stop an army of monsters, similar to the ones Eirika encountered. But, even with Innes's sharp eye, the monsters still kept coming. Eventually, some lizardmen armed with bows came to counter Innes's attack. He got away from the window just before the creatures unleashed their assault. "Well, gentlemen," Moulder began to say. "I have a feeling that we've really got ourselves into a jam this time." Gilliam came up and said, "Prince Innes, what are we to do, now? If we try to escape, we are sure to be killed." "Let me think," Innes answered. "There should be a back entrance to this fort, but I don't know if the enemy has that area blocked off or not. If we stay here, we could try to hold off their advance a little while longer untill Ephraim and the others get here, but we can't be too sure that we'll still be alive before they show up." "Oh, great goddesses," Moulder began to say as if he were expecting a miracle to come along. "What have we done to deserve this? Please, send something to give us a hand." Suddenly, the three men heard large footsteps approaching the castle. They rushed to the window to see that a group of four minotaurs were carrying a large battering ram. In front of them was a lizardman facing them and saying, "Come on, move it! Let'sssss gooooo!" as he was giving them hand signals to advance. Once the minotaurs reached the door, they began to use their immense, combined strength to hit the door with the heavy ram. Innes, Moulder and Gilliam headed down to the first floor of the fort, as they got ready for the assualt. "What ever happens, guys," Innes started to say as he thought this would be his final battle ever. "If things start looking too hairy, I want the both of you to escape without me, understood?" Gilliam heard this and said, "Never, milord!" Moulder backed him up saying, "We're with you untill the end." Innes gave them both a nod, and got ready as the doors were almost completely ajared. Just then, they could hear a battle going on outside. They looked out the window to see that Ephraim's forces were fighting with the monsters. Clark and Vanessa managed to take down a pack of wolfmen, Ephraim and Tana took down the minotaurs that were trying to breach the fort and Forde and Kyle defeated the lizardmen, at the same time Ross took down the one that was leading them all. After the monsters were destroyed, their corpses crumbled into the same dust that the bandits Ephraim had fought turned into. Innes, Gilliam and Moulder stepped outside of the fort to greet their saviors. Tana saw Innes and called out to him, "Brother! You're alive!" "Thanks to you guys," he replied. Ephraim approached Innes and said, "It's good to see you're all doing well." Innes gave Ephraim a scowl and said, "Hrmph. Better late than never, Ephraim. Just hope that little habit of yours doesn't get in the way of you being a good husband to my little sister." "I'll keep that in mind," Ephraim replied as he was used to Innes's insults. "By the way, did you guys ever happen to meet with Seth? He never returned to Renais and we thought he might have got involved with this attack." Moulder came up and answered, "He did come to tell us of your vision, yes, but he left awhile ago with some knights in white armor. Do you know of them?" "No, we don't," Kyle came up to say. "None of Renais's knights wear white armor. Why would he leave with them and not show back up to Renais?" "Eirika's been worried about him since the time she, Kyle and myself returned from our trips," Ephraim stated. "So, what do we do now?" asked Tana. Ephraim thought about it for a moment and said, "I think we should head for Carcino." Forde, once again said in a shocked manner, "You're kidding! Didn't you hear what Franz and I saw there? That place is filled to the brim with mercenaries! It's completely foolish!" "And that's why we're doing it," Ephraim exclaimed. "They wouldn't expect us to do something completely hapless like that. We can use that to our advantage. You recall our fight at Renvall last year, right Forde? Remember, I don't pick fights I can't win." After Ephraim was done talking and left to get everything ready, Innes appeared next to Forde and said, "He hasn't changed at all, has he?" "Nope," Forde answered with a sigh of hopelessness. Afterwards, Prince Innes called Vanessa to his side and said to her, "Vanessa, I want you to join with Eirika's group and tell them that we will meet with her in Jehanna. If you fly fast enough, you should be able to get to her by the time she reaches Grado, understood?" "Yes sir," Vanessa responded to the order. "But, what about you, my prince? Will you be okay without me? I'll be sad if you're hurt in any way." Innes smiled and said, "Don't be concerned for me. No matter what's happening with the entire continent, nothing is going to stop me! Now, get going!" "Right!" Vanessa said with a smile and she took off. Ephraim and Tana appeared with Innes. "Are you all ready?" Ephraim asked. Tana said, "Yes, I won't leave your side, my love." "You know I'm always ready," Innes said after his sister. After hearing that, Ephraim said, "Alright, let's move! Next stop; Carcino!"

To Be Concluded in Chapter 6.


	7. Chapter 6: Foreign Warriors

**Chapter 6: Foreign Warriors**

Outside of Rausten, near Darkling Woods, Princess L'arachel was beginning her new journey of righteousness while accompanied by her vassals, Dozla and Rennac. As they began their ride away from Rausten Court, L'arachel halted them for a moment and began to say to both of her followers with a cheerful expression, "Alright! It seems the world is about to be thrust into darkness again, so we must spread the light of justice on this evil! Ooh, this is so exciting!" "Gah, ha, ha, ha! How right you are, Princess L'arachel!" Dozla boasted as he was always filled with joy and Rennac sarcastically replied, "Oh yeah, about as exciting as riding a Clydesdale with a hernia." L'arachel started to speak again in her tone of optimism, "Well, there's no time to waste. Dozla! Rennac! Are the two of you ready?" Dozla answered, "I'm always ready to assist you with anything, my princess!" Rennac, however, did not answer as something from the woods caught his attention. "Rennac," L'arachel yelled out to him. "What are you doing! We don't have time to be distracted by pretty objects, other than myself, that is." The distracted theif turned around and said to her, "Well, L'arachel, unless your ego has gotten too big for that head of your's for you to hear anything, there's someone coming towards us." Dozla came up and asked, "Hrmm...Who do you think it is?" "I don't know," Rennac answered. "But, I think the best course would be to hide and see them from a safe distance." "A most thoughtful idea, Rennac," L'arachel said with a smile. After that, the three of them hid behind some thick trees, and peered around the corner to see their mystery guests. Suddenly appearing from the west was Damon, followed quickly by Phyllis and Molly. As they stopped, Damon looked around with a look of disgruntlement and said in an angry tone, "Grrr, this is so stupid! I thought we came here to fight the leaders of Magvel, but, instead, that dastard has us doing stupid errands for him! Gaah!" "Please, Damon, could...you not...get...so...angry," asked Molly in a nervous tone and Phyllis came in saying, "Really, you're scaring Molly with that temper of yours, like you always do!" Damon replied, "Sorry about that, but what could be so blasted important in Darkling Woods to steer us away from our original mission?" "You're not having any problems with the objective, are you?" asked a voice which turned out to be the hooded woman, who was holding a baby boy wrapped in a blanket of light blue. Showing up behind her was Emanuel. "Oh, it's you, Emanuel and Victoria," said Phyllis and Damon came in to say after her, "Hey, Emanuel, you finally decided to show up? And, Victoria, what's with the rugrat? I don't remember you having a kid." "He's not my son," answered Victoria. "This baby is part of the master's plans." Damon looked confused and said, "Uh...Okay." Emanuel came up and asked Molly, "Hey, Molly, has Damon been giving you any problems?" "Yes," she answered. "But, I'm fine, now that you're here." "That's good," Emanuel replied with a smile. Victoria came up to all four of the Serrisian warriors and said to them, "Listen, everyone. I know you'd rather be doing battle with our enemies, but this task is of the utmost importance to the master. The object you seek is in the Black Temple, centered in the heart of Darkling Woods. If you can do this, then you'll be able fight the real battles. Do you all understand?" "Yes ma'am," answered Emanuel. "If this is for the revival of our homeland, then I shall willingly do it." Molly came up behind him and said, "We can't let anything keep us from seeing our beloved Serris, again." Phyllis came in and said, "Let's make this quick. I really want to see if Prince Ephraim is as gorgeous as he is a good fighter." "Carefull, Phyllis, you're drooling," Damon said with a smirk. "But, I agree. If we can get this done fast enough, then we can begin the real fun." Victoria then said, "Alright, get to it, then." With that, Victoria and the four of the Elite Six of Serris went deep into Darkling Woods. After that, they were gone. L'arachel, Dozla and Rennac came out from behind the trees. "My goodness," L'arachel said looking confused. "I wonder what that was all about." Dozla replied, "I have no idea, princess. But, one things for sure; from the way they dress, I can tell that four of those people aren't from around here." Rennac then came up to say, "I suggest we leave right away. I don't know what it is, but I have this feeling that those guys are on a whole other level than us, and I most certainly don't want to be around when they show up, again." Soon, waisting no time, the three began to continue their journey to the west.

Meanwhile, Eirika and her team, consisting of Franz, Colm, Neimi, Artur, Lute and Richard arrived in Serafew, located on the border between Renais and Grado. As they did, they decided to stop for a moment in order to rest and refill up on supplies. "Ah, we made it to Serafew," Eirika said. "Not to much longer, we'll finally be in Grado." Franz came up to Eirika and talked to her. "I bet General Duessel will be surprised to see us. I just hope he'll be able lend us aid." Eirika then answered, "He'll have to, Franz. This thing that is happening to our land is not something that should be taken so lightly. Besides, I can tell that something is concerning you, as well." "Really," asked the young paladin with a shocked expression. "You can tell?" Eirika nodded and said, "You're not the only one who can tell when someone is troubled, Franz. And, you're like an open book. What is it?" Franz gave a sigh and said, "It's Amelia. She decided to go back to Grado when she got word her mother was ill. I'm hoping nothing is happening their right now that'll put her in great danger. I mean, I know she's become a very strong knight and I'm happy about that, but...I..." "It's alright Franz, nothing bad is going to happen. I know you love her, but she has become one of the best knights in the land, and at her age, that's really impressive. Same can be said for you. I'm sure everyone their is going to be fine" Franz smiled and gave a nod saying, "You...you're right." Meanwhile, farther up ahead, Ingrid was talking to a Knight. "So, Commander Statton, you understand you're objective?" She asked him and Statton replied, "Yes, ma'am. One of our soldiers spotted Princess Eirika at the entrance of Serafew. Do we have permission to kill the target, milady?" Ingrid answered, "Permission granted. Make sure you get the job done, understood?" Statton gave her a nod, and, with that, Ingrid flew off. Statton turned to his fellow knights and said to them all. "Fellow Knights of Serris, we have been given our orders. Find the target and eliminate her, by any means necessary. Understood? Good, now move out!"

Colm began to notice some soldiers advancing. "Princess Eirika," he said. "We've got trouble, twelve-'o'-clock." As everyone began to look straight ahead, they noticed some peculiar knights who were wearing different armor from any of the knights in Magvel. As they approached Eirika's group, a Soldier appeared in front of her and asked, "You are Princess Eirika are you not?" "And, if I am," replied Eirika, answering his question with another question. Suddenly, the three Soldiers got into their battle positions. The one who recently talked said, "We have orders to terminate you. Battlestations, everyone!" As all of the soldiers got ready for battle, Franz asked Eirika, "Who do you think those knights are? I've never seen armor of that design ever." "I have no idea, but they intend to fight, and I have no intention of backing off," replied Eirika. "Let's go!" Eirika and Franz began to rush in to fight off the various Cavaliers, Soldiers, Fighters and Myrmidons. Though the princess and Franz were holding their own rather well, these knights possessed skills different than that of any of the knights in Magvel. The fights were rough, as Eirika took a swipe to the right leg while Franz took an arrow in the left shoulder. Neimi spotted the Archer who attacked him, and took him down with an arrow to the chest. Colm attacked all the Fighters coming his way with quick and lethal swipes from his daggers. Artur and Lute stayed behind the flank to cover the others with their magic attacks, at the same time trying to keep Richard safe. Suddenly, a Wyvern Rider appeared from the southwest. He looked around and said, "A battle? What's the meaning of this?" After moving up ahead some more, he looked to his left really hard to see Eirika and Franz caught in a grapple with the soldiers. "Hey," he said in surprise. "Isn't that Princess Eirika? What is she doing here? Doesn't matter, I've got to give her the news." Two Cavaliers began to rush for Eirika and Franz. As the princess and knight were ready for the assault, two javelins flew down from the southwest, and impaled the rushing soldiers. Eirika and Franz looked to their left and saw a Wyvern Rider flying down to their location. As he landed, Eirika went to the man who helped her and asked, "Who are you, and why did you help?" The Wyvern Rider responded, "I am Jules, a Wyvern Rider of Grado. I have important information that I have to tell all of you." "Thank you," replied Eirika. "But, it'll have to wait until we're done here." Jules answered, "Understood." As they all fought their way through, they finally reached the company's leader, Statton. "Well done," he said. "Now, let's see how you fare off against me." Eirika stepped up to him and asked, "Who are all of you, and why are you attacking us?" Statton replied, "Feigning ignorance will not help you, princess. I am Statton, and you shall repent with the spilling of your blood!" As he said that, his eyes began to glow purple. The eight heroes saw this and Eirika said with a look of stymie and fear, "What...are...you?" Statton shouted, "No more questions! Draw your weapons!" Statton made a heavy thrust at Eirika, but she was able to dodge it. Franz made a thrust with his lance, but Statton quickly parried the strike. Lute and Artur began a magic assault on the heavily-armored knight while he was distracted by Franz. He was hit hard in the back where a hole in his armor had been formed. Jules saw it and pierced him right in the back with his Steel Lance. Statton fell to his knees and said under his breath, "For the glory...of Serris..." Soon after, his body exploded into dust. The bodies of the other soldiers soon followed. Eirika realized a similar thing happened with the monsters back in Za'ha Woods. After the battle, Richard went over to heal Eirika and Franz's wounds with his staff. "Thank you," Eirika said gratefully as the cut on her leg was mended and Richard replied, "Don't mention it. It is my duty to bless those who are deemed worthy in the eyes of our gods." Lute stepped up and said, "But, what was with all those soldiers? What made them turn into dust like that? There has to be a logical answer to this." Artur went up to her right and put his arm around her saying, "There are so many things happening that we don't understand." Neimi then began to speak. "Maybe those guys we fought were like dead and were brought back to life by magic." "Or, maybe, they weren't even human to begin with," replied Colm. Eirika thought about all of the possible causes, then she turned to Jules and began to speak to him, "Oh, Jules, I almost forgot. What was this important news?" "Ah, I almost forgot about that," Jules panicked. "It's the Grado army! They've been attacked by an unknown group of assailants." "Bandits?" asked Eirika and Jules answered, "No, they're different from any bandits. It seems when ever they arrive, fog follows them and covers the fields. Please, we need some help. They came out of nowhere and slaughtered most of the younger knights. General Duessel told me to seek either you or Prince Ephraim. Please, he and Lady Amelia, as well as the rest of the villagers in Grado need help!" "Amelia's in danger!" yelled Franz and Eirika replied, "Calm down, Franz. Let's go to their aid immediately. My brother sent me to Grado to align with them, and I'm not about to let things go awry. Time to head out, everyone! Jules, I would be glad if you could lead us there." "As you say, milady," Jules replied.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 7.


	8. Chapter 7: Standing Tall

**Chapter 7: Standing Tall**

In Darkling Woods; Emanuel, Molly, Damon and Phyllis made their way further in to the thick, eerie forest while accompanied by Victoria, who was still holding on to the infant. After a while of riding, they all stopped for a moment. "Victoria, are you sure we're going in the right direction," asked Damon. "All these trees look just about the same." Victoria answered while stroking the baby's hair, "I'm quite sure we are. I do know a lot about this place." Emanuel came up to say, "Victoria is a native of Magvel, and right now, she's the best guide. Let's not waste any more time in trying to get this task done." "Oh yeah, Emanuel?" Damon snapped. "Well, I got two words to describe 'our task': THIS SUCKS!" Damon's yelling caused Molly to hide behind Phyllis, at the same time waking up the baby. He started to cry and wail. Victoria whispered while rocking him, "Shh, shh...it's okay. He didn't mean to wake you. You're going to be alright." Phyllis put on a mean face and said, "Well, I hope you're happy, Mr. Genius. Not only did you scare Molly, but you also woke the baby. Here's an idea, once we have to fight the armies of Magvel, why don't you just yell out to them to let them know we're coming." "Alright, I'm sorry," Damon said annoyed by Phyllis's talking and Emanuel replied, "Will the two of you knock it off? This constant fighting with each other is getting us nowhere. I say we put our differences aside, and finish this." "I agree," said Molly and Victoria said after calming down the baby, "Come, once we go down this path, we'll be close to the Black Temple. Let's hurry." The four nodded to her and they all continued on their way. Soon, they managed to reach it. They walked to the very back where Victoria noticed a dark glow. "That's it. There's the item," Victoria said pointing to the glow. Emanuel took some steps toward it. Molly said to him, "Be careful, Emanuel." The young Swordmaster bent down to pick up the stone glowing of black and purple. Emanuel started to think to himself, "Hmm...This stone...something...very familiar about it." After Emanuel got back to his feet with the stone in his hand, he went over to Victoria to give it to her. With the object in her right hand, she said, "Very good, everyone, now let's head back to deliver it to the master." "Please," Phyllis replied. "This place gives me the creeps." They soon left the temple.

Meanwhile, Ephraim and his team, who now had Innes, Clark, Gilliam and Moulder join them soon arrived in Carcino. They decided to rest in Port Kiris in order to assess their supplies. "Hey, Innes," said Ephraim and he replied, "Yeah, what is it?" Ephraim continued to talk. "When we arrived at the castle, we saw the place was very empty. I just wanted to know where the others were, and if they're okay." "Don't worry," Innes said. "They all took the secret passage in the castle. Seeing that those beasts were really after me, I decided to have everyone escape to the local villages. I also told Syrene to go on ahead to Rausten to let them know of the attack." Tana came up and said, "Well, I'm relieved to hear that everyone is okay." Suddenly, they heard the voice of a young girl, "Umm...can you help me?" The young woman revealed herself to Ephraim's group. She had burnt-amber hair and wore a light grey robe. "And, who are you?" Gilliam stepped up to ask her and she answered, "My name is Madison. I'm a shaman training under Saleh of Caer Pelyn. Please, you have to help me." "What seems to be the problem," asked Tana and Madison replied to her, "It's my friend, Sky. I think he might be in danger. Once these mercenaries came to Carcino, they had Lord Klimt held up in his palace. Sky and I heard about this, and he went off to try and save him. Please, I have this feeling that he might be in some kind of trouble. I asked everyone in town to help me, but they're too afraid to do anything about those mercenaries. I don't know what to do." Ephraim stepped up to her and said, "Don't worry, Madison, we'll help." "Especially since Klimt needs help, as well," Innes replied. Madison said to them, "Thank you. You don't how much this means to me." Afterwards, they began to ride off to the southeast.

In one of the more wooded areas of Carcino, a lone Mage with bleach-blonde hair, very dark violet shirt and short pants, and a dark green robe was stumbling behind the trees. "Blast," he said. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. There are just too many of those mercenaries for me to handle. Still, Madison will be alright. I wonder if she found someone to help." Just then, one of the mercenaries approached a Cavalier that appeared to be the their commander. The Cavalier said to the mercenary who approached him, "Have you found that boy?" "No sir, Commander Leich," said the mercenary but then he smiled a crooked grin and continued to talk. "But, we got word that Prince Ephraim is coming this way, and, to make things better, he's bringing Prince Innes and Princess Tana of Frelia." Leich smiled and said to him, "Very good. If we can take care of them, we'll only have to worry about Jehanna's Prince Joshua and Rausten's Princess L'Arachel. Princess Eirika will be arriving to her doom at any moment, and we already have Council Leader Klimt in custody, so we can finish him off at any time. Once we do, the master will grant us even more power. We'll be strong enough to even defeat the Elite Six." "What about that boy," asked the mercenary and Leich replied, "Forget him. We're 'bout to go after some even bigger game, but if he tries anything funny, slaughter him." The mercenary nodded. After he went to join with the others, Leich called out to all of his men. "Listen up, everyone! Prince Ephraim and the heirs of Frelia are about to come our way! Once you see them, hold nothing back, understood!" At that moment, Ephraim's company, now with the young Shaman, Madison joining them, showed up. "Alright, guys," Ephraim said. "It's time that we took care of these mercenaries, and save Klimt. Battle positions, everyone!" Madison came up to Ephraim and said, "Prince Ephraim, if you would allow it, I would like to fight along side you." "Can you fight?" asked Ephraim and she replied, "Yes, I have some knowledge of Dark Magic, though I'm not terribly skilled with it, but still..." "Very well," Ephraim interrupted. "You can help, but stick behind us to stay out of danger. Keep on the lookout for your friend." "Right," Madison answered. After that, the mercenaries, who consisted of Brigands, Mercenaries, Soldiers, Archers and a Myrmidon began to approach Ephraim's company. "Here they come," Ephraim exclaimed. With that, his team rushed in to fight. Forde and Kyle used their sword arms to take down the axe-wielding Brigands, Ross went solo as he killed the Soldiers, Gilliam and Clark went together to defeat the Mercenaries, and Moulder backed them up with blast of Light Magic. Madison was helping Forde and Kyle with her Dark Magic attacks. Suddenly, an archer appeared and shot an arrow in the young Shaman's direction. It missed her, but the bowman was readying another attack. Just then, he was hit by a blast of thunder. The Archer got killed, and Madison looked behind her to see her friend, Sky. "Madison," the young Mage called out to her. "You came back!" Madison said to him, "Of course, I did. You're my friend and we couldn't let you get hurt. What made you run off like that, anyway?" "Well," Sky started to say. "It's kind of personal, but I'll explain later. Right now, let's take care of business here first, okay?" The two friends went to rejoin the battle. Ephraim and Innes killed the Archers in order to give Tana some room to fight off the reinforcements, which consisted of two Cavaliers. Tana used her agile movements and quick lance thrusts to knock them out. As all of the lesser soldiers had been destroyed and turned to that same dust, Leich began to look very nervous as he said, "This can't be! I didn't know they would put up this much of a fight. I'm going to get that power, one way or another." Ephraim approached him and said, "It's over! I think it's time you let Klimt go!" "Over my dead body!" Leich yelled out. He soon armed himself with his sword and tried to take a swipe at Ephraim, but he was able to avoid it. Madison, Moulder and Sky used an Anima-Light-Dark Magic combination on him, which he barely dodged, but his horse got rattled by the blasts. Forde and Kyle equipped their lances and began to take thrusts at him. Leich parried most of their strikes, but was grazed by one of Forde's attacks. Leich drew back some, and Tana appeared behind him to throw a Short Spear at his back. He was hit. Gilliam thrust a Horseslayer at Leich's horse, crippling it. Ross threw a Hand Axe to knock Leich's sword out of his hand while Innes started to hit him with a volley of arrows. Seeing Leich on his last feet, Clark jumped up and hit Leich straight in this chest with his Iron Lance. The hit was fatal, and Leich fell off of his horse. As he landed, he said right before dying and turning into dust, "But...the power..." After Leich had been killed, Ephraim came up to Sky and asked him, "Are you okay?" "Yeah," he replied. "Thanks to all of you." Innes approached him and said, "What possessed you to run off to fight all those mercenaries, and save Klimt by yourself?" "Well," Sky began to say. "Council Leader Klimt... ... ...is my grandfather." "Really," Madison said in surprise. "I never knew that! Why didn't you ever tell me?" Innes said in surprise as well, "I never knew Klimt had any grandkids." "Yeah, well," Sky started to reply. "I try to keep it secret. The only other who knows is my teacher, Master Saleh. But, that's not important right now. He needs help. Prince Ephraim, Prince Innes, Princess Tana, I would like to borrow the strength of you and your men to save my grandfather, please." "Sure thing," said Ephraim. "Klimt is a friend of Innes and Tana, and loyal to Frelia. We would like to have you and Madison join with us." "Thank you, so much," Madison said with a big smile and Sky said after her, "I'm honored to have you fight on our side!"

To Be Concluded in Chapter 8.


	9. Chapter 8: Assassins of Fog

**Chapter 8: Assassins of Fog**

After their fight in the town of Serafew, Eirika's group followed Jules, the young Wyvern Rider that joined with them to Grado, where apparently, a village had been attacked by some mysterious culprits that seem to be protected by a thick cloud of fog. The lesser Grado army could not even manage to stop them as they were completely wiped out. Jules told Eirika and the others that General Duessel and Amelia were trying to help the few survivors of the village, but were having trouble trying to save themselves. Eirika wondered to herself if this was just a chance encounter, or if it was actually tied to the dream her and her brother, Ephraim had.

Eirika and her company eventually made it to the outskirts of the village that had been under attack. They saw that the place was covered in the thickist fog ever, just as Jules said to them. "Wow!" Eirika exclamied. "I can barely see anything!" Franz came up next to her and asked, "How are we supposed to find Amelia and the general in this soup?" "Don't worry," Colm replied to him. "That's why I brought a torch, just in case anything like this happened. Plus, I have better vision in fog than anyone else here. If our friends or any enemies show up, I'll be the one to let you know." Eirika replied to Colm's statement, "Thank you, Colm. You don't know how glad we are to have your help at this time." Colm's cheeks turned red as he answered, "Aw, stop! You're embarrassing me!" Jules came up to them and said, "Princess Eirika, if General Duessel does manage to show up, I need to be the one to let him know of our arrival." "Very well," Eirika responded. "But, if the enemy manages to show up, I want you to keep a sharp lookout for any archers or mages using wind spells, understood?" Jules answered, "As you say, your ladyship."

Just then, on the far eastern-side, a Sage was talking with a Shaman. The Shaman said to the Sage, "This magic fog has worked very well to our advantage, Commander Zepher." "Very well, indeed," Zepher replied with a smile. "I guess the Grado army wasn't as professional as the people made them out to be. This nation has already suffered from the disaster that occurred one year ago right after the death of Prince Lyon. This little tactic will serve to add insult to that grave injury." "We just received word that Commander Leich and his squadron in Carcino were defeated by Prince Ephraim, as well as Frelia's Prince Innes and Princess Tana," the Shaman said and Zepher answered, "Hah, Leich was a fool! While his battle expertise was exceptional, he relied heavily on strength of numbers. Leich had no mind for planning, while I have been able to perform a feat that simpleton could only dream of!" Afterwards, a Brigand came up to Zepher and said, "We just spotted Princess Eirika and her company in the northwest!" "Good!" Zepher repled, "I think it's time we go greet our guests." Suddenly, Zepher teleported right near Eirika's location. "Well, well, what do we have here," Zepher said with a crooked smile. "You must be Eirika, Renais's symbol of beauty and hope, am I correct?" Eirika replied to him, "That's right, and I take it you're the one responsible for this sneak attack." "You got me," Zepher replied. "I am Commander Zepher, leader of this battalion. My master gave me the power to summon this magical fog. With it, I have been able to crush the armies of Grado with ease." Jules appeared next to Eirika and said to Zepher in an angered manner, "What have you done to General Duessel and Lady Amelia?" Zepher answered, "Last I heard, that old rust-bucket of a general and his adorable companion were escorting the villagers to safety. Don't worry, I believe they'll show up on time to witness your deaths, now let's not delay this any longer. Come!" With that, Zepher teleported away. "Looks like we don't really have a choice in the matter here," Eirika stated. "Alright, everyone! Meet with the enemy and drive him off! Let's do it!" Just then, from the southeast appeared a Great Knight and a General. It was Duessel and Amelia. As they stopped, Duessel said, "Well, that takes care of that. Thanks to those mysterious knights in white, we were able to get everyone out of danger." Amelia stepped up and said as she was trying to look through the fog, "Oh my, I think I can see Princess Eirika. Do you think Jules gave them the information?" "I imagine so," Duessel replied. "Listen, Amelia, I want you to go to them, and let them know that we have arrived." Amelia responeded, "But, general, I can help you fight off the enemies. My skills with the lance has imporved, not to mention my training with the sword and axe." Duessel smiled and said to her, "I know you can, Amelia, but we need help. We can't do this by ourselves. Besides, Jules needs to know that we're okay." Amelia nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do it. But, promise me you'll stay alive when I get back, please?" "It's a promise. I'll try not to break it." Amelia nodded and started to run in Eirika's direction. Her armor was much lighter than that of an average Knight and General, which gave her better mobility. After she ran off, Duessel readied his axe and waited for the enemies to show up. Meanwhile, Colm lit a torch to clear out some fog in order to enable the others to see and fight off the opposition a little easier. Some Shamans started to approach from the northwest, but were dispatched immediately by both Lute and Artur. The oncoming Brigands and Fighters were taken down by Eirika and Neimi's swords. Colm slit the throats of some Monks, while Jules was fighting off some Soldiers and Myrmidons. As Amelia was making her way to Eirika's company, a couple of Knights stood in her path. "Halt!" shouted one of them. Amelia pulled out her axe and swiped both of them at the same time, knocking the two armored warriors to the ground. As Amelia kept running, she called out to Eirika, "Princess Eirika!" Franz was startled by the voice of the person. He turned around and said under his breath, "Amelia?" The young knight stopped to catch her breath as she finally reached them. "Amelia!" Fanz said with glee. "It really is you!" Jules came up to say, "Dame Amelia, it is good to see that you're well. Where is General Duessel?" "That's what I came to tell you," she replied. "Duessel stayed behind to fight off the enemies in his territory. He sent me to let all of you know we made it." Eirika said, "Well it's good to see that you're in one piece." "Princess Eirika," Jules started to say to her. "If you would grant me permission, I would like to go and help my general. I must let him know Amelia reached us safely." Eirika answered, "Very well, permission granted. Be careful out there." "Right! Let's go, Gustov," said Jules as he bucked his wyvern for take-off. Amelia remained with Eirika's group. More Brigands appeared from the east. Amelia armed herself with a claymore, and knocked out three of them. Eirika and Franz took down the rest, with some help from Neimi's bow. They finally made it to where Zepher was. "Impressive making it here," he said. "You have earned the privallage to be slain by my hand. You should feel very honored." After he finished talking, his eyes began to glow purple right before he attacked them with Shine. Eirika's team avoided the blast. Colm rushed in head-first at the Sage to try to swipe him with his daggers. Zepher just barely got out of the way of the attack. He retaliated with another Shine blast, but Colm jumped out of the way. Eirika pulled out her rapier and charged for Zepher. As she made a thrust for him, he tried to dodge it, but his side was grazed by the attack. Afterwards, Artur and Lute hit him with a powerful magic combo. After seeing how damaged he was, Amelia got her lance out and hit him directly in the stomach, just before he could conjure up another spell. "Not...bad at all," Zepher struggled to say. "But, believe me...when I say that...past here...only...death awaits you...Nngg!" And, with that, he died and turned to dust. With Zepher's death, the fog started to clear. "Look, Princess Eirika," Franz said smiling. "The fog is starting to lift." Soon Duessel and Jules appeared. "General Duessel," Eirika called out. "It's good to see that you're safe." Duessel replied, "Likewise for you, milady. What brings you here?" Jules answered, "General, Eirika says her brother, Prince Ephraim sent her here to have her join with Grado's army." "Really," responded Duessel. "Well, as you probably heard, princess, most of our forces were either killed or disappeared. However, I think the rest should be defending the capital. We'll take you there if you'd like." "Thank you, General," Eirika answered. With two more companions with her, Eirika and the the team left for the capital of Grado to see about getting some more help.

Meanwhile, back at the old mansion, the same man in the shadows was sitting on a chair while holding a gold staff, with numerous gems embedded in it with a giant sapphire embedded at the top, in his right hand. The man was watching Eirika's company through a giant crystal ball. As he saw how victorious they were, he slid his left hand through the air, right in front of the ball, which made the image disappear. He began to say to himself, "Hmm...It seems I've underestimated those two. Looks like I'll have to advance my plan a little early. I think I need a major, upscale battle to lure them to their deaths. Heh, heh, heh...gah, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

To Be Concluded in Chapter 9.


	10. Chapter 9: Saving Klimt

**Chapter 9: Saving Klimt**

Back at the old mansion, where Chester and Ingrid were waiting patiently, Victoria, along with Damon, Phyllis, Emanuel and Molly returned through teleportation. "Master," Victoria called out. "We've found it!" The mysterious man came in holding his gold staff, and said, "Show it to me." Victoria pulled out her hand to show the man the stone, being careful not to drop the baby. "Ah, well done," the man replied smiling. He took the stone from her in his left hand and said, "You've all done a great job. For this, my plans are sure to be fulfilled." "Yeah, yeah, that's great and all," Damon came in saying in his usual surliness. "But when can we start the fighting! I didn't come all this way just to be someone's errand boy." Emanuel appeared behind him to say, "I have to agree with Damon on this one. Our mission was to eliminate the leaders of Magvel, yet we've been doing these jobs for you. When can we begin the real task at hand?" "Soon," the man responded. "Right now, there is much work to be done. Eventually, you'll get your chance. The problem is that we may have underestimated the abilities of King Fado's children. Princess Eirika has already made her way to the heart of Grado while Prince Ephraim is heading off to free Klimt in Carcino. They are much more capable than I had imagined, but this only opens up more possibilities to us. For now, the plan has changed. Our forces will lead a grand assault on Jehanna. This will be perfect in luring the twins into a battle from which they will not be able to escape." Damon then started to blurt out, "Rrrrrr...this doesn't make one bit of sense! What's the point of doing battle if all we're going to be doing is getting held back!" Chester appeared next to him and said, "Well, Damon, if you think about it, it does make a lot of sense. A major battle would be enough to lure them out. Once they fight off enough of our forces, the six of us can arrive in to do our job without much added interference." "But, Lord Chester," Molly came up to respond. "Isn't invasion a little, well, you know, beneath us? How could we stoop to something so low, and still manage to maintain our honor?" Ingrid stepped in to reply, "Yes, you are right, Molly. Invasion is pretty dishonorable, but as you heard, our enemies have proven to be much more capable. Sometimes, in order to complete the task, you have to get your hands very dirty. That even means doing things you don't approve of. I certainly hope I don't need to remind you of the attack on Serris. I'm just saying let's sit it out and see how things turn, alright?" Molly's only response was a deep sigh. "Oh well," Phyllis began talking. "I guess I could wait before seeing my beloved Ephraim. I just hope he lives long enough where we can finally meet." Damon heard this, and slapped his right hand over his eyes while throwing his head back and said, "Good grief." The mysterious man came up to say to them all, "Alright! My forces will begin the attack on Jehanna tomorrow morning. I still need to do a few things to get everything ready until then. You may take your leave." The Elite Six gave the man their bows, and began to walk off. Right when Chester, Ingrid, Phyllis and Damon walked through the doorway, Molly stopped just before it and said, "Hey, Emanuel," "Yeah, what's up?" Emanuel stopped to ask her and she replied, "Well, it's just...we've always believed in chivalry. You know, to hold up all truths and ideals. To defend those less fortunate than us. We never gave up on that, so...why do I have this feeling that those very ideals are dying? Is it possible that the very man who saved us from death doesn't even believe in them? I know I shouldn't ask such questions, but why do I feel this way?" "Yes," Emanuel said back to her, looking concerned. "There are so many things going on here, we can't even come up with a question for them all. Molly, I just want you to know that I feel the same way." Molly looked surprised at the same time her cheeks started to turn to pink. Emanuel continued to talk, "Right now, let's see what unfolds. If either of us discovers something, we can speak to each other about it. Afterwards, we can tell the others. How does that sound?" "Yeah," said Molly with a bright smile. After that, they both walked through the door. Victoria and the man were then all alone in the main lobby. Victoria smiled while coddling the baby, "Hmm hmm, what fools they are, don't you agree master?" "Yes," the man said with a crooked grin. "Of course, they have done well to add much entertainment to this whole ordeal. Eventually, it'll be close to time to get rid of them. Heh heh heh heh heh!"

Meanwhile, after their fight with the mercenaries in the woods, Ephraim and his teammates arrived in the heart of Carcino. As they made their way, Sky said to himself, "Grandfather, I hope you'll be okay. We're coming to save you." Ross looked around and said, "Wow! Would you look at all these mercenaries surrounding the town?" "Better look closer, Ross," replied Ephraim. "Some of them aren't even human." Everyone looked to see that amongst the human mercenaries were monsters similar to the ones they encountered at Border Mulan. However, there were some new types, such as half-woman, half-bird creatures and gelatinous-looking beasts. Forde said, "Aw, not more monsters!" "Have these humans sided with those creatures?" asked Kyle and Innes replied, "Sure seems like it. Can't let that stop us, though!" Just then, Tana said to them all, "Look out, everyone! Someone is approaching us!" Suddenly, coming towards them was a Halberdier, with two bird-women following him. "Welcome, Prince Ephraim," the Halberdier said. "I see you have brought the beloved children of King Hayden here as well." Ephraim replied, "And who would you be, that you lead this invasion on Carcino?" "Commander Gritnel," the Halberdier answered. "I am the leader of this battalion, and the coordinator of the entire invasion." Sky ran up to him and said, "Craven cur! What have you done with my grandfather! If you even hurt him, I'll make you wish you never came here!" A bird-woman came up to say to him in an angered tone, "How dare a whelp like you threaten Commander Gritnel! Just who are you anyway?" "My name is Sky," the young Mage replied. "I am the grandson of Council Leader Klimt!" The bird-woman responded with a smile, "So, you're his grandson? Very well, I shall send you to the afterlife. He'll be joining you soon." Madison heard this and said, "No!" "That will not be necessary. Stand down," Grtinel said to the bird-woman then he turned to Sky and said, "Please forgive her reckless attitude. Harpies can be so unruly. Nevertheless, you will all die here! We await your arrival!" Soon, Gritnel and his two Harpies turned around, and went back to the main citadel. "Looks like we're going to have to break through their main defenses before we can reach Klimt," stated Gilliam. Ephraim said in return, "This isn't going to be easy, but we don't really have much of a choice!" He paused then turned to Sky and started talking to him saying, "Sky, I hope your magic will be enough." "Don't worry," Sky replied. "I'm pretty good with both wind and thunder-type Anima magic. Master Saleh taught me everything I need to know. Of course, he mostly pays attention to that little dork, Ewan." "Sky, don't say stuff about him like that," Madison responded to him and he replied back to her, "Come'on, Madison! You and I have been Saleh's students a lot longer than that babbling, day-dreaming, accident-proned nerd, yet our teacher sees something so special about him." "Alright, that's enough," Ephraim said. "I think we should be worried about ridding Carcino of these knaves before anything else, got it? Everyone, get ready for battle!" Just then, out of a house on the west side came a Fighter with dark skin, black hair tied into dreadlocks and wore a teal sleeveless shirt with black slacks and brown boots, and he had a red headband. "Hey!" the Fighter yelled out to Ephraim, who then asked him, "Who are you?" "Simon," he replied. "I was sent by Prince Joshua to serve as an attendant of Jehanna to Klimt of Carcino, but then all these mercenaries showed up. I think you're going to need my help if you intend to save the old man." "Thank you, Simon," replied Ephraim. "This will at least give us an edge. I'm Prince Ephraim of Renais." "I know," Simon smiled. "You and Frelia's Tana and Innes are the reasons I'm here." With Simon in toll, Ephraim led a straight on attack against the mercenaries and monsters, whose eyes began to glow purple. Tana, Forde and Kyle brandished their swords against the Fighters and axe-wielding lizardmen. Simon and Ross began to fight the Cavaliers, whom were all wielding lances. Ross then took down a few harpies with his bow, and Innes did the same. Sky backed them up with blasts of wind attacks. Ephraim, Gilliam and Clark were fighting the minotaurs while Moulder and Madison were using their magic to destroy the slimes. "Curses," Gritnel said. "They're putting up a good fight. Guess it's time to up the ante. Release the Manticore!" Just then, some minotaurs and lizardmen began to open the door, which released out a giant creature with the body of a lion, the wings of a hawk and the tail of a scorpion. "Alright, Prince Ephraim, let's see how you can do against this magnificent Manticore, created by my master!" Suddenly, out of the northeast came an Archer with rust-colored hair that was tied into a ponytail and wore a khaki shirt and black pants . A minotaur looked at him and said, "What do you want, human?" "Ah, wow I didn't know I'd be working with monsters," the Archer replied. "My name is Vash. I originally joined with these mercenaries in order to earn some gold to pay off a big debt that I owe. Hope you don't mind?" The minotaur said back to him, "That's fine. Just don't get in our way." Soon, two Mages and a Shaman appeared behind Vash. At the same time, two Brigands appeared from the northwest, while five Cavaliers came from the south. Forde, Kyle and Gilliam went to deal with Cavaliers while Ross and Simon decided to deal with the Brigands. Ephraim and the others huddled together as Vash and his unit advanced. As they did, Sky and Madison easily took out the magic-wielders behind him. Vash retaliated with an arrow. It missed them, and Innes shot an arrow at his leg, which caused the Archer to fall. "Cripes," Vash said out loud. "At least if I die, I won't have to worry about paying off that debt." Ephraim heard this and went up to say to him, "So, you're not really one of them?" "No, I just joined with these...'mercenaries' to earn some money to pay off this huge debt I have." Ephraim then replied, "Yes, your eyes don't glow like their's. So, what's your name?" Vash answered saying, "I'm called Vash. I'm basically a wandering soldier for hire." "Well then, Vash," Ephriam responded. "If you need money, you can join with us." "Really? You mean it? Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! I say, you are a real life saver," Vash replied as happy as he could be. Ephraim just put on an innocent smile and thought to himself, "Good Lord, what have I done?" After Moulder healed Vash's wound, which caused the arrow to come out, Ephraim and his team began to lead an assault on Gritnel and the new monster. Innes and Vash took down the remaining minotaurs and lizardmen with critical shots. Ross, Simon, Gilliam and Kyle decided to brandish their axes against Gritnel, while Ephraim and the others took on the manticore. Moulder, Madison and Sky stayed behind to attack the beast with their magic while Vash and Innes backed them up with arrow attacks. The manticore was very quick on dodging these attacks. Ephraim, Tana, Forde and Clark made a rush at it to take it head-on. The manticore countered with thrusts from it's long tail. They were barely able to avoid the strikes, but they still kept pushing. Meanwhile, the other four began their fight against Gritnel. The Halberdier had quick and impressive lance strikes, but he couldn't manage to land a blow as they parried all of his blows. During the fight with the manticore, Tana flew over the monster, and cut it's tail with her sword. The manticore roared with pain. Forde and Clark thrust their lances at it's hind legs which severely crippled it, at the same time, Innes and Vash started to shoot arrows at it's front legs to do even more damage. Finally, Ephraim slid under the beast and hit it straight in the chest with his lance to finally put the monster to rest. Right before the manticore was about to fall and crush the prince with it's heavy weight, Tana, on her pegasus, flew over and pulled Ephraim out by his left hand. The manticore was dead, at last. Gritnel looked and said with a great look of fear, "No! They defeated the Manticore! This can't be happening!" "Oh, it is happening," yelled Ross. Gritnel looked around to see the young Warrior about to hit him with a jumping strike. Gritnel held up his lance to block the attack, but it was quickly chopped in half by Ross's axe. Tana then came down, after dropping off Ephraim near Innes's location, and hit Gritnel in stomach with her lance. "Master," Gritnel said as he was dying. "Our lives...are now yours...to use!" Afterwards, he coughed up blood, then crumbled into purple dust, just like all the other mercenaries and monsters, as well as the manticore. Sky ran into the palace and began to call out, "Grandfather! Are you here! It's me, Sky!" "Sky," asked Klimt as he emerged wearily. "Is that really you?" Sky smiled widely and said with enthusiasm, "Grandfather! You're alive!" The two embraced each other tightly. Ephraim approached him and said, "Lord Klimt, it's good to see you're okay." Klimt looked at him and replied, "Likewise for you as well, my prince." Innes and Tana came before him and Klimt said with surprise, "Prince Innes? Princess Tana? You came as well?" "Of course," Tana said. "When we heard about the mercenaries surrounding Carcino, we had to come to your aid." Innes backed her up saying, "That's right, you and all of Carcino are one of our most trusted allies." "I wish that were completely true," Klimt stated and Ephraim responded, "Why is that?" Klimt began to talk again saying, "What really bothers me is that most of those mercenaries I saw were citizens of Carcino." This caused everyone to look uneasy, then Innes said, "You think they were still followers of Pablo?" Klimt replied, "Hard to say, but all I can say that dark days are ahead of us." Ephraim said, "Well, we've been through dark times before, and we'll beat it this time." "Hey," Sky said. "Why don't you all stay here for tonight? I'm pretty tired, and I'm sure everyone else is. What about you, Madison?" The young Shaman replied, "I do feel a little tired." "I'm completely bushed," Tana said after her. "I really need a good beauty sleep." Forde responded, "Now that's what I'm talking about. Just a good nap, and maybe a little painting." "Very well, then," Klimt said with a friendly smile. "I shall have some rooms prepared for everyone.' Ephraim replied, "Thank you, milord. You are too kind."

Late at night, Ephraim was standing on the balcony, looking at the full moon. Tana slowly walked toward him. "Hey, Ephraim," Tana said to him quietly which caused him to turn around to see behind him, then he replied, "Hi, Tana. Can't sleep?" Tana replied with a smile, "That's what I was about to ask you." She walked a little more toward him and said, "I bet you're thinking about Eirika." Ephraim sighed heavily and said, "You remember what Klimt said, right? About how some of those mercenaries were natives of Carcino?" Tana nodded and Ephraim continued to talk, "Well, what if something similar is happening in Grado? What if they have fallen under the sway of this evil so much, that Eirika would be in danger? And not just in Grado, what if it also happens in Frelia, Rausten, Jehanna, even Renais? I just...don't know what will become of this world if everyone is driven mad." Tana said to him, "There's no telling what will happen, but... ... I am most sure that Eirika will survive. She is...one of the strongest women around. I've always envied her for that, and I know she'll be okay." "You're right," Ephraim replied. They both stared at the full moon that night. Tana then laid her head on Ephraim's left shoulder as to make the scene even more romantic. Ephraim continued to look at the moon and said to himself in thought, _"Eirika, I know you will make it. I can feel it. I'm not going to lose hope for you."_

To Be Concluded in Chapter 10.


	11. Chapter 10: Friends to Foes

**Chapter 10: Friends to Foes**

Eirika and her companions finally made it to Grado, only to be attacked by a group of assassins hiding themselves in enchanted fog as told by the Wyvern Rider, Jules. Fortunately, they were assisted by two of Eirika's allies, General Duessel and Amelia. However, there were things that were still troubling the young princess; what was the reason for these attacks? Was this all connected to hers and Ephraim's dream? Bandits, knights from a foreign land, assassins and monsters: None of this made sense to her. "What is the real connection to all of this," she thought to herself. Regardless, she couldn't let such thoughts keep her from accomplishing her goal.

As the group made their way through Grado, Eirika and her friends saw the horrible destruction brought onto the local villages. Eirika looked around with pain and sorrow building up in her heart and said, "This is horrible! What manner of creature could do this?" "We saw them," answered Amelia. "But we didn't even know who or what they were. All I can say is that they looked like tall, black, shadowy men." "Shadowy men," Franz asked her and she replied. "Yes! And, to make things worse, everything we threw at them didn't even phase them one bit." Duessel then stepped in to back Amelia up, "Unfortunately, what she says is true. I've never encountered anything like them, before. They can't even be killed by conventional weaponry." Upon hearing this, Eirika began to say to herself in thought, "Shadow Creatures? Could those be the same things Ephraim and I saw in our dream? But, if they can't be killed by normal weapons, how did we do it?" Afterwards, Lute stepped up to Duessel and said, "Pardon me, General, but did you ever try to use magic to nullify them?" "No," Duessel responded. "Unfortunately, most of our mages were confronting bandits on the other front while others were killed by the fog assassins as well as those shadow beings." Jules then appeared to them and said, "This is absolutely unforgivable! I knew the people here in this village. They were close friends of mine, and now they've been slaughtered like their lives didn't matter at all. I won't forget this ever!" "Look," Colm said as he came up to talk with the others. "I know we're all sad over this, but it can't be helped. What's done is done. There's no other way around it." Jules then put on a scowl and said angrily, "How dare you!" then Neimi came up next to Colm and said to him as she was about to cry, "Oh, Colm…sniff…why do you have to be so…sniff…mean? It's so sad what happened here and yet you act so…so…insensitive. Waaaaaaaaah!" Artur then came up and said, "Neimi, I know he sounds like he's being a bit rough, but Colm is right. We can't let this keep us from completing our quest. Standing here mourning over these people will accomplish nothing. Let's fight for their sake." "I couldn't agree more," Richard replied. "Eventhough my eyesight is gone, I can feel the terrible destruction coming from this village, as well as the thousands of cries from the people who were slain, but this only gives me the motivation to keep going." Eirika then said to him, "You're right! Let's not waste anymore time. We have to get to the capital of Grado to see if we can get anymore help." Just then, everyone heard a voice calling from the sky. "Princess Eirika," the person said. As Eirika heard the voice, she stated, "Hey, I know that voice! It must be Vanessa!" The Pegasus Knight flew down to the group from the north. She dismounted her winged-steed and approached Eirika, saying, "It's good to see that you are alive, princess." "My words, exactly," Eirika replied with a smile. "Tell me, what brings you here? I hope Ephraim isn't in any trouble." "No, your highness," Vanessa answered. "He recently arrived to help Prince Innes, who had been caught in a fight with some monsters at Border Mulan. After the battle, Prince Innes told me to fly to Grado to lend you some aid, right before he and the others left for Carcino." Eirika then replied back to her, "I see. Well, regardless, it's good to have you with us." Duessel came in and said to Eirika, "Princess Eirika, we must continue onward towards the castle." "Yes, you're right, General," Eirika responded. "Let's go."

Soon, after a few hours of riding, Eirika's company finally approached Grado Keep. Once they did, two Knights, four Soldiers and three Cavaliers appeared from the castle gates to greet the weary travelers. "General Duessel," one of the Knights said. "It's good to see that you were able to make it back to us." Duessel responded, "Yes, I, too, am glad to see that you were able to defend the castle without much interference, though I find it a little strange that the enemy wouldn't try to occupy this territory." The Knight then said back to him, "We have suffered no attacks, which is rather odd." "Still," Duessel replied. "I think we should count our blessings and be thankful it's still one piece. If you would, we'd like to spend a night in here to allow our guests to recuperate after a long journey." "I see no problem with that," the Knight answered. "We'd be more than happy to make all of you comfortable. We shall see if we have any more soldiers to spare you. Regardless, Grado will help you in this fight." Everyone went inside the castle. The knights escorted Eirika's group to the throne room. "We're going to get some rooms prepared for you. Please wait here until then," The Knight said to Eirika and she answered, "Thank you." As the Grado knights left to do what they set out to do, Eirika approached the throne. She couldn't help but stare at it. As she did, the princess was filling up with an unwavering sorrow. Franz and Amelia came up to her to see what was wrong. "Princess," Franz asked her. "What's the matter?" Eirika's silence broke and she said, "Oh, Franz! Sorry about worrying you. It's just…with both Emperor Vigarde and Lyon gone, the throne, from here, just looks so… so… empty. Even after one year, I still can't believe Lyon is dead. I remember that time I was here in this very throne room with him and Ephraim." Suddenly, Eirika began to have a flashback about what happened over 2 ½ years ago:

In the flashback, Eirika, Ephraim and Lyon were in main throne room of Grado Keep. The three of them were getting ready for a session with Father MacGregor. "So," Lyon said to the twins. "Are the two of you ready for today's lesson?" "Sure am," Eirika said with enthusiasm. "I hope the topic will be very interesting today." Ephraim then started to say with a yawn, "Ahh, I didn't get much sleep last night. Must've been from all the training. I'll try to learn as much as I can, though I doubt I'll benefit from it." "You see, Ephraim," Eirika said to her brother. "This is why Father MacGregor is always so cross with you. You never show any real interest in these lessons. If you focused as much on studying as you do on sparing, you might learn something interesting." Ephraim then replied looking annoyed, "Alright, mother. It's just that I don't really see the point of me learning any of this. I just don't have the capacity for knowledge like Lyon, or the willingness and curiosity like you do, dear sister." Lyon approached Ephraim and said, "That's because you never really try hard. I can understand most of your experience comes from the battlefield, but I know you've got room for more. You're a great guy, Ephraim, and I believe that even more greatness lies ahead for you and Eirika. General Duessel and my father believe this. Even Father MacGregor thinks so. And, I'm more than sure you're father and Frelia's King Hayden feels the same way. You two don't even know how lucky you are, and how much I respect you. You're like siblings to me." "Lyon," Eirika said looking startled, and Lyon said back to them, "Oh, Sorry. Guess I'm starting to sound like a hopeless romantic, aren't I?" "No, you misinterpret me," Eirika answered. "I really like what you said. It's just I never expected to hear such words at all. I hope I'm not sounding disrespectful." "Oh, no. You're not," replied Lyon. "It's really I who should apologize. I guess I got so carried away in my speech that it just came out. I'm very sorry." Ephraim then started to talk again saying, "Lyon, you're a good friend and, eventhough we may show differences in interests, I hope our friendship between the three of us remains intact forever." Lyon said back to him, "Me too." Just then, Eirika spoke up, "Oh! I think class is about to begin. We better hurry if we don't want to end up late." "Agreed," Lyon said back to her. "I think it's time we left." Ephraim then gave another deep yawn and replied, "Alright, let's this get this over with. The sooner, the better." "Oh, brother…" Eirika said with a sigh. After that, the flash back ended.

"Princess," Franz said to her. "Are you going to be okay?" Eirika answered, "Yeah," as she was trying to keep herself from crying. Amelia started to say, "You know, your majesty, I met Lyon before, as well. I mean, before the whole war when we had to fight him. It's when I was still training to become a professional knight. Prince Lyon just happened to be out on the proving grounds that day. I think he was observing how the soldiers fought with weapons in order to see if he couldn't defeat you in a spar. He then caught a glimpse of me as I was having trouble maintaining my balance when I was practicing with my lance, mostly because the armor was a little heavy for me. When I was trying to do an advanced thrust, the kind that I've seen General Glen do during battles, I tripped and fell on my butt. After that, I started to feel like it was hopeless and I began crying. Lyon started to walk towards me, though I didn't even notice. He then said to me, "You shouldn't give up. Just because something is hard doesn't mean you should try it all at once. Just take it one step at a time until you can finally get it right." After training, he took me around the castle, and he even showed me his study where he would do all of his different practices. He even let me eat in the dining room hall. He was amazed at how much I ate, but I was pretty hungry from training, not to mention that, being rather poor at the time, I didn't have enough money to buy food, but he was generous to even let me have dessert. And, when I got very tired, he let me rest in one of the castle's comfortable beds. He then told me, "'I see that you have great potential. I know that, in the future, you'll become one of the greatest knights ever. You're a very sweet and cute girl. In fact, you almost remind of someone I know and love dearly.' I swear I'll never forget those words. It made feel…. special." "That sounds like Lyon, alright," Eirika replied to Amelia's story. Jules then said to her, "Wow, you're lucky! I never got to meet Prince Lyon face-to-face once. It must've been incredible." "It was," Amelia answered. "He was such a kind person to me. I almost felt like I was in love with him at the time." Duessel was listening in on the conversation and smiled widely. Just then, a single Knight appeared in the throne room and said, "Sorry to keep all of you waiting. Your rooms are ready. "Thank you, my good sir," Duessel replied. "Finally," Colm said out loud. "I can finally get some sleep in a good bed!" After talking, Colm began to scratch his stomach with his left hand. Everyone saw Colm's questionable gesture with slightly mortified looks. Then Lute said to him with a fake grin, "My, my, aren't we the subtle one." "Aah, shut yer trap," Colm yelled out to her. Everyone began to leave for his or her quarters. The guys slept in one room while the girls slept in another one right down the hall.

Unfortunately, waking up next morning wasn't nearly as peaceful as their sleep. "Attack! We're under attack," one of the knights yelled out. Everyone heard the panicking of the knights, and got dressed as quickly as possible. Duessel was the first to appear out of the guys' room, and said to the knight, "Who's attacking us? Bandits? Monsters?" "Well," the knight answered nervously. "There are monsters amongst the attackers, but you're not going to believe who else." "Who is it," asked Eirika as she came right behind Duessel, and the knight said, "Grado soldiers!" "What," Duessel said with a look of horror, as he didn't understand what was going on and the knight began to talk again, "I don't get it either, sir, but Grado soldiers are attacking us. You don't think they could be the same ones who were sent to deal with the bandit attack, do you?" Duessel responded, "It's a possibility. Try to hold them off the best you can. We'll try to be out there to deal with it." "Aye, sir," the knight said as he went to hold off the invaders. Amelia ran to Duessel and said to him, "I don't understand, General. Why would soldiers of Grado be attacking us? What have we done wrong to deserve this?" "I don't know," said Duessel, looking very frustrated. "Strange things have already been happening, and the last thing I want is a nasty surprise like this one. I don't know if they're rebelling against us, or if this is someone's idea of a sick joke." Jules, who just came in, started to say, "If Grado soldiers are attacking this castle, then that is high treason. It's time we taught them a lesson." "Indeed," Duessel replied. Just then, a knight who was trying to hold off the attackers suddenly yelled out loud, "AAAH! They've broken through the main gate! They're already in the main hall of the castle! We can't hold them off much long…err… arghh… uuhhh…. uhh…!" Everyone heard the soldier die and Eirika said, "That didn't sound good. Let's not waste anymore time. We need to meet with the opposition right now and drive them off! Let's get to it!" Immediately, they got their weapons ready, at the same time, Franz, Neimi, Vanessa, Jules and Duessel got onto their steeds, and took off with the others to meet the enemies in the main hall. There, the group saw the enemies' forces, which consisted of both human soldiers and monsters. "It's just as they said," Franz began to say. "Grado soldiers and monsters working together. What does this all mean?" Suddenly, Vanessa came up to say, "Look out! The enemy is approaching!" Coming near Eirika's company were three Wyvern Riders. As they stopped, one came a little closer to the group. "Ah, General Duessel, how are you," The Wyvern Rider spoke as he smiled crookedly and Duessel replied, "Morgart? You orchestrated this whole thing? What is the meaning of this? Have you decided to rebel against us?" "Oh, General," Morgart answered while shaking his head, continuing to smile. "How can I betray a nation that's already doomed? It's time you grew up, Duessel! Now that Grado's current emperor, as well as it's future ruler have both bought the farm, the foundation of this once glorious country is now crumbling, and there is no way to save it. What would you do, Duessel? Would you honestly leave its fate in the hands of Fado's children? Heck, the other nations are still suffering, as well. The reconstruction of Magvel is far from over, and yet, they still want to believe they're making progress. Magvel has been greatly crippled from the war. Do you honestly think that working together, you'll be able to restore everything to normal?" "To all of that, I say 'yes,'" Duessel exclaimed. "It's too bad that you are so blind to not see the progress we have made!" Jules then came up and said, "Commander Morgart, I can't believe someone as skilled as you would betray us! I… trained under you, for crying out loud! Have you gone completely insane?" "Depends on how you mean it," Morgart answered just as his eyes glowed purple. "So," Eirika said as she approached the Wyvern Rider. "You've become one of them." Morgart then replied, "Ah, Princess Eirika! I've actually arrived for you. Your pretty little head shall make a fine trophy for my master's wall. After all, he does want you dead." "Why? For what purpose," asked Eirika and Morgart remarked, "Only because he ordered it. To be honest, I don't even completely know why. My master never gave me the full skinny on his plan, but if it earns me more power than what I've got right now, so be it!" With that, Morgart and the other two Wyvern Riders began to fly back. They stopped halfway, and Morgart spoke back out to the heroes, saying, "Its time you all learned just how hopeless your struggle is, and I shall be the teacher. All forces move out! It's very sad we have to end up this way, General Duessel, but I shall not hesitate to strike you down! Prepare yourself, this is the end of your days, old friend!" The three Wyvern Riders flew all the way back to the other side after Morgart finished talking. "Alright," Eirika said. "We need to drive off their forces right now. If we can do that, we should be able to win the fight." With that, they began to move out. Just then, from the west side staircase came a Pirate. He wore a ragged, gray shirt with the sleeves ripped off along with dark blue pants, black leather boots and white bandages on his hands. He had muddy brown, short hair, and wore a dark purple headband. His most notable feature was his face. He had a rather large nose with a tiny patch hair on the end, a big chin with a slightly large cleft, and was buck-toothed with two teeth coming out in the front, almost making him look like a rat. Despite the look on his face, he was quite burly. "Ah," He said as he emerged from the stairs. "Nothing like skipping the scenic route, narf narf. It's amazing how some people don't watch out for things like this. Say, the group I followed here must be prepared for battle, narf. I guess I'll go for the guys who are larger in number, though I must say that some of them look more beastly than myself, nnnarf!" Soon, he began to march with the enemy forces. As Eirika's forces began to attack, they decided to split up. Franz, Amelia, Neimi and Artur went down the west side while Eirika, Vanessa, Duessel, Jules and Lute went down the east side. Richard stayed behind in case he had to heal the others while Colm was fixed on collecting the treasures in the rooms. On the east side, Eirika and her group started to fight off the approaching Fighters, Cavaliers and Lizardmen while the western team did battle with Wolfmen, Minotaurs and Mercenaries. Neimi shot arrows, clipping the wings of the approaching Harpies. On the east side, a Theif appeared out of the staircase and opened a door which led to a room with two treasure chest. Vanessa rushed to kill the knave by thrusting her lance directly into his chest cavity. Colm took that opportunity to loot the treasures himself, which included an Angelic Robe and a Dragonspear. As the fight on the west side started to rage intensely, the rat-faced Pirate started to make a move. He was about to throw his Hand Axe directly at Franz. Amelia saw that and immediately jumped in the way to shield him from the attack as she readied her sword for battle. The Pirate saw Amelia and said to her, "WOW! You're one of the most adorable girls I've ever seen!" "Excuse me," asked the little knight with a most astounded look. "Aren't we supposed to fight, sir?" The Pirate replied to her, "I can't bring myself to hurt such a cute girl. It's against my policy to do so, nnnnarf. The lovely color of your armor really compliments your cuteness, as well. I bet their are many other cute girls in your group like you, narf nrf." "Well, let's see," Amelia started to say. "There's Lute, then there's Neimi, and Vanessa. Oh, and of course, Princess Eirika." "That's settles it," the Pirate said. "I'm going to be joining with you guys, narf. My name is Rizo. I'm known far and wide as Rizo the Rat Face, which you can figure out, by looking at my face, it's pretty obvious, narf nnnarf. I came here looking for a guy named Vash. You haven't by chance run into him, have you?" Amelia shook her head and said, "No, sir. I don't believe I have." "Narf, is that so," Rizo asked and he continued to talk. "Oh well, narf, I guess if I travel with your group, I might run into him eventually, nnnrf narff. So, are you ready to go, sweet thing?" "Hey," Amelia yelled out to him. "Don't treat me like I'm a helpless girl. I am a highly-trained knight, after all." Rizo said to her, "Of course you are, narrrf, but I'm here, so I'm going to make sure nothing bad happens, all right, narf?" With that, Rizo became part of Eirika's group as he helped them fight off the reiforcements of Cavaliers and Slimes, using his quick and deadly axe swipes. Colm went to the other room with treasure on the west side wall. Using his Lockpick, he got a Hammer, a Steel Sword and a Mend staff. Seeing that his forces were losing, Morgart got rather uneasy, and spoke out to the three other Wyvern Riders with him saying, "We've sat here long enough. I think it's time we showed them how to really deal with pathetic filth. On my mark, we ready our weapons and move. Let's go!" With that, Morgart and the two other Wyvern Riders with him began to move towards Eirika's group. Eirika and Franz killed the two Archers, as they would prove to be a major hinderance to both Jules and Vanessa. As the three enemy Wyvern Riders began to move, more reinforcements appeared. Four Harpies emerged from the hallways closest to the castle gate, two on each side. And, at the gate came two Lizardmen and two Myrmidons. Lute and Artur went together on the east side to kill the Harpies there with their Wind Magic while Neimi brandished her bow against the two harpies on the western side. Rizo and Amelia decided to pit their axes against the two Wyvern Riders with Morgart. The battle was fierce as the knight's wyverns were rather quick, but eventually, the young General and rat-faced Pirate pulled out a victory. Eirika and Colm chose to handle the axe-wielding Lizardmen, whom they defeated after quite a match while Vanessa and Franz speared the two Myrmidons. After that, it was just Morgart who was left on the enemy's front. Duessel and Jules decided to confront the traitorous knight themselves. "Ah, General Duessel and my former pupil. Next to Princess Eirika, I can't think of anyone else's life I'd rather take than that of you two." "Morgart," Jules yelled to him in great anger. "You are going to pay for all of this! Because of your betrayl, villages full of innocent people have been completely ransacked, and their inhabitants have been handed a fate they should've never received. You are going to die!" Morgart then said back to Jules in a calm voice, "Ah, I see a lot of anger in your eyes, my young student. Tell me something, what makes my betrayl so bad? If I recall, General Duessel did a similar thing last year. He joined with Prince Ephraim without a second thought. He willingly fought against his own comrades that he had fought along side with for so long. How am I so different?" "Because," Duessel spoke up in anger. "I never sold myself to anyone like you have, Commander. I believed in the ideals that Grado used to stand for. The Grado I fought so hard to protect a long time ago. I went against them for they had lost all sight of what we were originally striving for." "Ah, and It's because of those ideals that this now miserable nation is almost extinct. The whole human race shall follow very soon." "What did you..." Duessel said right before Morgart interrupted him, saying, "No more talking. It's about time I showed you all the true meaning of pain and suffering!" Right after saying that, Morgart charged straight at both Jules and Duessel. They barely blocked his thrust attack in time. After it got thrown back the two heroes, Morgart made a second attempt to attack them with another thrust. Pulling on the reins on their steeds, both Duessel and Jules jumped out of the way. Jules immediately went on the offensive, by trying to take multiple swipes at the Wyvern Rider turned evil, but missed all times as his wyvern was too quick, due to long and effective training. Morgart then retaliated with a mighty thrust from his Short Spear into Jules's right shoulder. The hit caused blood to fly straight out from the newly formed wound, at the same time, the force from the attack knocked Jules off of his wyvern. The young knight fell to the ground, and he cluched his shoulder in as if he was trying to stop the wound from bleeding. Duessel yelled out to him, "Jules!" The others soon looked worried about Jules's condition. "Hrmph, that was all you had," Morgart asked him with a snicker. Jules looked at him angrily, but he could only find himself worrying about the wound he recieved. Duessel then made a charge at Morgart as he was about cut him down with his Silver Axe, but Morgart, on his wyvern, flew out of the way and came right behind Duessel. He then pointed his Short Spear at the back of his head and began to say, "You see, General? You've gotten a lot slower, and it's all thanks to a combination of time and your pathetic ideals. Goodbye, Duessel!" Just as he was about to land the finishing blow on the former Obsidian, Jules saw a Javelin lying next to him which had come from the Wyvern Rider that had been defeated by Amelia. He picked up the weapon in his left hand and threw it right into Morgart's back. The lance potruded out his stomach through his back. The pain was incredibly intense for Morgart, but he tried to prepare another attack on Duessel. Suddenly, a Hand Axe flew out and chopped Morgart's weapon in half. It turned out to be Rizo's Hand Axe, seeing as it went right back to the Pirate's hand. Distracted by Rizo's attack, Morgart didn't notice that Duessel was already in striking distance of him. Wasting no time, Duessel swiped Morgart across his chest with his axe, giving him a fatal cut. As he fell of his wyvern, Amelia decided to use the Dragonspear Colm got from one of the chests to soundly kill it. With Morgart lying face-down on the ground as his blood was starting to form a puddle underneath him, he began to say, "Curses... I guess I wasn't strong enough, yet. Still, winning dosen't always... mean... victory! Ubknownst to... all of you..., this castle is surrouneded... by reinforcements. There's no escape...for any of... you. Your journey can only end in Hell. I... guess... I'll go on... ahead, uurgh grah!" After that, his body crumbled into dust, leaving only his clothes and ebon armor. All of the bodies of the monsters and Grado traitors, as well as their steeds, followed. After the fighting, Eirika's group decided to see to each other to assess the damage. Richard went over to heal the injury that Jules recieved from Morgart. "Thanks," the Wyvern Rider said as his wound had closed up and Richard replied, "I'm... very sorry that you had to suffer such a painful wound." "No," Jules said back to him. "I got it because of my stupidity. I was just so angry at Morgart. I couldn't believe he would turn his back on this nation. I thought he was much more honorable man than that, but I guess I was deceived!" "We were all deceived, Jules," Duessel responded. "I couldn't believe it myself. I can understand your anger, but you do need to control those emotions before you can manage to do battle ever." Jules said back to him, "I know that, and I'll try harder next time." "Glad to hear that," Duessel said with a smile. Just then, a lone Grado soldier came through the gate and yelled out, "General Duessel, we have a problem!" Duessel asked, "What it is?" The soldier answered him saying, "Morgart may not have been lying. Just outside of the castle are hundreds of soldiers, and I don't think they're here to lend us aid. From their positions, they seem to be ready for a full scale assault!" "No," exclaimed Eirika. Everyone went outside to see the castle surrounded by Wyvern Lords, Druids, Paladins and Great Knights. There were also Minotaurs, Wolfmen and Lizardmen, but they looked bigger and more vicious, not to mention that their fur/scales were colored differently from their counterparts. "This is just great," Duessel said frustrated. "If they begin their advance now, we'll never be able to take Grado's sacred twins and be able to leave on time. I'm sorry to say it, but we'll have to leave them here for now. At this time, we need to find a way to escape without them seeing us." "Hey there, narf," Rizo began to say. "Why don't we take the staircase I used to enter the castle? Narf nnrf!" Duessel answered, "A good idea." They all went back inside. Rizo showed them all the stair case he had emerged from. "You sure about this, General," Vanessa asked him sounding very uncertain, and he responded. "Don't worry. Underneath Grado Keep is a system of underground tunnels, which lead to various places outside. We can use this system to bypass those reinforcements. After that, we can go on to meet with Ephraim's forces." "Oh, I almlost forgot to tell you, Princess Eirika," Vanessa remembered. "Prince Innes told me that we would meet up again in Jehanna. That's the message he told me to give you, milady." Rizo then said, "Well, let's don't dilly-dally all day, narf narf! Time we made our escape, nnnnarf!" "And we'd better do it quickly," Richard exclaimed while holding his right ear to the ground. "I can hear the footsteps of the soldiers, and they're getting very close." Being blind, Richard's sense of hearing was much more heightened than that of the others. "We need to hurry if we are going to go meet with my brother," Eirika stated and Duessel replied, "Right! Let's go, everyone!" Wasting no time, Eirika's group, along with the few knights Grado could spare, went into the underground tunnel to escape certain death. Artur took Richard's left hand while Lute took his right in order to lead him down the dark and dank tunnel. As they were all inside, Eirika and the others followed Duessel as he led them through the corridors to find a path that would lead them to the exit closest to Jehanna without being spotted. They finally made their way out, but wasted no time socializing. "Time we moved," Eirika said and the group began their march to Jehanna. However, they had no idea that they were walking into, yet, another trap.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 11.


	12. Chapter 11: Ghosts

**Chapter 11: Ghosts**

Back in Rausten, near Darkling Woods, L'arachel, Dozla and Rennac were still making their way through. "Let's see," L'arachel started to say. "I'd say Jehanna shouldn't be more than an hour away." Rennac came up looking very tired and bored saying, "Correct me if I'm wrong, princess, but didn't you say that like about three hours ago?" L'arachel put on an innocent looking face and replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I've never been down this part of Rausten before." "Really," asked Rennac with a troubled look. "So you couldn't find it in yourself to bring a map?" "Well," L'arachel began to say with a bright smile. "I just thought that we'd let the power of the heavens guide us to our friends." Rennac put on a look of worry and said in sarcasm, "That's just beautiful." "Don't I know it," shouted L'Arachel with enthusiasm. Rennac sighed deeply and said to himself, "With the way things are going right now, we may end up lost and forced to eat each other." "Well, if it comes to that," Dozla said. "I'll be more than happy to let you have the first bite of me! Gwa, ha, ha, ha!" "Not if we get there first," said a growling voice. The three of them looked to see that they were surrounded by a large band of monsters consisting of wolfmen. "Well, well, well," said the one with dark grey fur and the bad left eye, who was obviously leading the pack. "Looks like dinner did come to us on a silver platter, after all." The hundreds of wolfmen behind their leader were all snariling and sounding very ravenous. "What kind of monsters are you? I've never seen creatures like you ever," said L'arachel as she had no clue as to who or what they were. "I'll tell you what we are not," said the lead wolfmen. "We're definetly not like those mindless drones who served under the Demon King. However, our master has given us orders to kill the future leaders of Magvel. That would, of course, include you, Princess L'arachel!" Soon, the wolfmen began to circle around the small group of three with hunger. Dozla readied his axe as to prepare for their assault on them. As they continued to circle around the heroes, one wolfman said, "Mmm... I think the big guy will make a fine feast for us all. There seems to be plenty of him to go around." "Yeah," replied another wolfman. "And I guess we can have the little princess for dessert, but what do you think of that scrawny guy?" Wolfman 1 answered, "Heh, he can be the appetizer." Rennac got scared after he heard that and said to himself in thought, "Oh perfect, not only did that 2 oz. brain of a princess get us lost, but now some hungry wolf creatures want to eat us, and to make things worse, I'm the first on the menu!" Then, the lead wolfman spoke up and said, "Let's go boys! Don't leave one piece of meat uneaten!" The wolfmen began to jump out at the three travelers. Just as all hope had been lost, a familiar voice called out and yelled, "ELFIRE!" The wolfmen were all hit by a massive firestorm, yet it did not hit L'arachel, Rennac and Dozla. Some of the wolfmen were killed by it, but the ones who survived were then hit by a large blast of dark energy, which they definetly didn't survive. The few remaining wolfmen were about to retreat, but then, a giant, yellow dragon crashed down, breaking a few trees as it did. The dragon gave a loud roar, then followed it up with a super-heated stream of fire. The last of the wolfmen were completely incenerated by the blast. Afterwards, the dragon looked at L'arachel and Dozla, then, in a magical ray of light, the dragon transformed into the form of a familiar, young-looking girl. "Hey, it's Myrrh," L'arachel said with a surprise. Eventually, emerging from the woods, also came the other two who helped L'arachel's small group: Saleh and Knoll. "Is everyone here alright," asked Saleh and L'arachel replied with a smile, "Yes, thank you. I thought our journey was about to come to a tragic end for a minute!" Dozla then came behind her and said, "Oh, princess, you shouldn't say such stuff. It was our undying faith that had us saved by these virtuous people." "You know, you're right, Dolza! How could I not have known? Thank you, Dozla," said L'arachel smiling her brightest as always and he replied, "Gwa ha ha ha ha, no problem, my princess!" Knoll then came up and said, "Yeah, so...uh, anyway, wasn't there three of you? What happened to your other companion?" "I don't know," L'arachel replied then Myrrh appeared and said, "Uh, I think I found him." Rennac was lying on the ground on his left side where a large piece of tree fell on him, which had apparently been knocked down by Myrrh's rampage in dragon form. Rennac was twitching, his eyes were now just giant swirls rotating clockwise, and his mouth was wide open and making a goofy smile while his tounge was hanging out and touching the ground. Dozla, L'arachel, Saleh and Knoll all had very big eyes to show how shocked they were. Myrrh could only help by putting on an innocent smile and saying, "Oops, looks like I should've exercised some restraint." "Yes, you should have," Saleh said back to her. Dozla then went over to use his immense strength to lift the tree off of the unconscious Rogue. He then picked him up underneath his armpits and said to him, "Rennac, can you hear me? Please, say something!" Rennac, still dazed, turned his head to Dozla and said, "Hey, grandma! What's that perfume you're wearing?" L'arachel then laughed innocently, yet nervously, and said, "Heh heh heh, he'll be alright, I hope." Her innocent face broke off and she began talking to the Saleh and his group, "So, what brings the three of you out here?" "Well," Saleh began to say. "Myrrh felt a disturbance come from Darkling Woods. I remember as it happened back in Caer Pelyn. Myrrh was screaming in her sleep last night. I went to see what was wrong, and she told me of everything." Myrrh said after him, "It's true. I can feel an even greater evil coming this way. One far more dangerous than that of the Demon King. It's...sickening." "Hey, princess," Dozla remarked. "I wonder if this has to do with those five characters we saw go into Darkling Woods?" L'arachel thought about it for a moment and answered, "You may be on to something, Dozla." "Funny, you two should mention that," said Knoll. "We were just about to investigate the Black Temple to see if we could find out what's bothering Myrrh. Maybe the three of you can find something out about the five people you saw go into the woods." "A sound idea, Lord Knoll," L'arachel said in her usual bright demeanor. "I only wish you the best of luck. I think it's time the three of us left. Let's go, Dozla!" "Gwa ha ha ha," Dozla laughed. "I'm right behind you, my lady. Don't worry about Rennac, I've got him with me." As the three began to leave, Rennac, who was still not completely all there, said, "What a great party! Ten bottles of rum, and I still have room for cake and ice cream!" With that, L'arachel and Dozla, who was carrying Rennac on his back, continued their journey while Saleh, Knoll and Myrrh were about to investigate Darkling Woods.

It was morning time in Carcino. Ephraim, who had just woken up, went over to the balcony of the room he was sleeping in at Carcino Palace to look at the sunrise. He was only wearing some blue pajama pants at this time. He decided to meditate to relax his nerves and calm the raging beast within. He always did this every morning back at Castle Renais. He would always sit down while at the balcony of his bedroom with his legs crossed and his hands resting on them. He would close his eyes, then start to breathe in slowly through his nose. This did wonders for his morale during combat. His sister had something she always did every night before going to bed back at Castle Renais herself: When it was a clear night, she would spend her time near the ledge of the balcony near her room, looking at the moon and the stars as well as the rest of Renais lit up in the glorious moonlight while feeling the cool night breeze. Of course, she did this while only wearing her underwear. Ephraim didn't mind it, though. In fact, since their rooms were next to each others, Ephraim would go out on the balcony those nights, and talk a little with her. They were twins after all so they usually understood how they felt much easier than that of other siblings. He knew that that moment was when she was truly in her happy place. While Ephraim was still continuing to meditate, Tana appeared at his bedroom door. She was wearing a white slip made of silk and lace, a matching gown, and she had her hair down. She leaned on to the door frame on her left side while seeing Ephraim meditate. Her beautiful face had a serene demeanor as she stared at Ephraim very romantically. After a while, she walked toward him. When she got there, she kneeled down behind him, put her arms around his chest and started to kiss the sides of his neck. "Tana," Ephraim said to her while smiling. "You're breaking my concentration." Tana stopped and said in a soft voice, "What's the matter, Ephraim? You're not ticklish, are you?" Afterwards, she removed her arms off of him then sat beside him on his left. "I know you're meditating," she said after sitting next to him. "But I've never tried it before. Does it really help?" Ephraim replied, "Sure does. It allows me to focus on battle without being distracted by my own guilts and worries. It enables me to reflect on my dealings in the past and face it directly." "Hrmm...," Tana went as she was very curious about this routine of Ephraim's. "Maybe I should give it a try myself." Ephraim answered to this, "Okay. I don't see a problem with that." Tana slid off her gown, then got herself into a similar position as he was in. She stretched her arms upward to relieve herself of any stress before resting them on her legs. Ephraim then said, "Good, now just close your eyes and let all pain and worries leave your body and soul into the morning sun." Tana did just that. Usually, she would find similar things like this boring, but it turned to be surprisingly enjoyable. The warm sun hitting her body and making her skin glow was soothing to her nerves. "Mmm.. this is very peaceful," Tana said and Ephraim replied, "Isn't it? Whenever I do this, I feel like my very soul is entering another plain of existence. One where sorrow and suffering has no meaning. A world where hope is neverending. A world of true peace." "A world that the both of us can share with each other," Tana asked him softly as her love for him was very strong at this time. He opened his eyes and looked at her, then said in an equally soft voice, "Oh, Tana..." As they looked into each others' eyes, their faces started to come in closer. Their eyes then closed as they were about to kiss one another deeply. Right before they could, Innes's voice came out loudly saying, "Ephraim! Tana! There's an emergency!" The two lovers broke their fixation off one another and looked behind themselves, which was the direction Innes's voice came from. "Sounds like something is wrong," Tana said. "Let's go see what my brother wants." Ephraim replied, "Right." Tana got her gown back on, and the both of them went to find Innes. Eventually, they found him, in which he was already fully dressed in his standard get-up. Every early morning, Innes would get dressed and go outside to do a little target practice to hone his skills. "Brother," Tana called out to him. "What's wrong?" Innes answered, "A messenger told me that Jehanna's garrison is under attack!" "What? How can that be," asked a frustrated Ephraim to Innes and he responded, "I didn't get a lot of details, so I don't know how they're are faring, but I heard it was skillfully planned. I'm afraid I may have just sent Eirika to her grave." Tana and Ephraim looked scared and Tana asked, "What do you mean, brother?" "I... uh..." Innes stuttered as he found it very hard to say anything. "It's about Vanessa. I... told her to find Eirika and tell her that we would meet together in Jehanna. It's almost like the enemies knew what we were thinking!" The three of them were silent for a moment, then Ephraim broke it by saying, "Alright, here's what we do: I'm going to go get dressed. Innes, Tana, you warn the other guys, and tell them to meet me in the main lobby. After that, we get some more supplies, and head straight for Jehanna. We've got to get to both Eirika and Joshua before they do. Does everyone agree with that?" "Sounds good to me," Innes answered and Tana remarked, "Me too." After that, they all nodded to each other and went off. After a while, Ephraim, who was now fully dressed in his normal outfit, came to the main hall where Klimt and Sky were. "It's sad to see all of you leave," Klimt said as Ephraim walked in. "But, I understand the need to protect your twin sister. I just want to give all of you my best wishes and hope that you will take good care of my grandson." Ephraim said back to him, "And thank you, Lord Klimt. We'll be sure to bring Sky back alive. I've made a vow to see that all of our allies make it back home in one piece." Sky then came up to the both of them and stated, "Hey, don't the both of you worry about me! I'll take care of anyone who tries to come in my path. You saw my powerful spells at work, yesterday, Lord Ephraim. Believe me, you ain't seen nothing, yet!" "Bold words there, my friend" came Innes's voice. He and Tana, who was now back in her usual outfit and had her hair fixed back to it's original look, came through the doorway with the rest of the group. Ephraim went up to them and said, "Good to see you all made it here." "Ah, not so loud," Forde said. Ephraim saw that Forde, Kyle, Gilliam, Clark, Moulder and Ross were all still very sleepy. Clark said, "Some of us weren't able to get a lot of sleep because of Vash's snoring." "Really, it sounded like a wyvern with a sore throat," Ross said and Kyle replied, "That's a way of putting it mildly." Moulder and Gilliam were too tired to make a remark as they could only yawn. "Well, geez, I'm sorry," Vash yelled out to them. "But, it's not my fault you didn't bring any earplugs." Soon, Simon came through the main doorway of the palace. "Alright, everyone," the dutiful Fighter said. "I got some supplies for our new caravan that Klimt loaned to us, had all of the steeds fed, and I went to get my axed worked on a little. All and all, I'd say we're ready to get this party started." "Thank you, Simon," Ephraim responded. Then he turned to Klimt and said, "Well, I think it's time we left. Thank you for letting us spend a night here, Lord Klimt. You've been more than a big help for us." "It was nothing," Klimt replied. "I'm just glad to have made things a little easier for you. Farewell, Prince Ephraim. And you, too, Innes and Tana." Innes said, "Be well, Lord Klimt," and Tana said after him, "We will return. Promise." After all that, Ephraim then said to the group, "Alright, everyone! Let's not waste anymore time! We need to head off to Jehanna as quickly as possible! Let's move!" And with that, they began to ride off.

As the group was making their way towards Jehanna, Innes decided the best way to get there would be to go through Caer Pelyn. "Hey, Innes," Ephraim said to him. "You sure we'll get there in time this way?" Innes replied, "Don't worry. Eirika and I took this path to get to Jehanna before. Ewan was the one who showed us this route." Sky got rather irritated when he heard Innes say Ewan's name. "Just a few more miles to go," Innes told the group. "We'll be in Jehanna shortly." Just then, a cold breeze came through. Tana felt it first and said, "Brrrr... Is it just me, or did it get really cold all of a sudden?" Afterwards, one by one, all of the others started to feel the breeze. "Whoa, that is cold," shouted Ross and Gilliam said after him, "I can feel it, as well. What is this?" Forde then exclaimed, "What gives? It's supposed to be around spring time!" "Cold breeze, and yet, there's barely a cloud in the sky," stated Simon, then Vash said, "Maybe this is just one of those strange, weather phenomenons." "No," Madison called out to them. "This breeze isn't natural!" Moulder then backed her up saying, "She's right. There's something foul about it. Everyone, be on your guard!" Immediately, Ephraim's group heard a sinister laughter coming out from the air. "Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," the voice went, then Ephraim readied his Reignlief and asked it demandingly saying, "Who are you, and what's your deal with us?" The voice called out again saying, "Hee hee hee... tell me something, Prince Ephraim. Are you afraid... of ghosts?" "Huh," remarked the confused prince. Shortly after, Kyle noticed a rather sizable ball of pale blue light falling from the sky. As it was drawing closer to the ground, he said out loud to the others, "Everyone, look out!" The ball of light hit the ground, creating a brilliant explosion of white light. The group of thirteen shielded thier eyes with their hands to keep themselves from being blinded by it. After everything came back into view, the heroes moved their arms down and opened their eyes to a scary sight: There were about eight knights on horseback armed with lances in front of them. However, something wasn't right. The knights and their steeds were pale blue and transparent, and looked to be dead as it appeared that some of their skin had rotted off to show parts of their skeleton, and the armor of the knights looked to be badly damaged and tarnished from years of abuse. They were all cackling and laughing in the creepiest of tones. "Gh...guh, guh...GHOSTS! REAL GHOSTS," Clark yelled out as their very sight terrified him. The Ghost Knight in front came forward and said, "Looks like your friend there has the right idea, hee hee hee hee..." Ephraim looked at the intangible knights in anger and asked, "So, are you specters also working for this 'master?'" "Smart boy, you are," the lead Ghost Knight said. "Yes, we are here on our master's behalf. Here to kill the lot of you, that is! Soon, you all shall join the ranks of the undead. Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha...! Come out, our legions!" Soon, the place began to swarm with Lizardmen, Lizard Archers, Minotaurs, Slimes and Wolfmen. "Oh, this is perfect," Ephraim said sarcasticly in a mad tone. "We need to get to Jehanna quickly and now we've got to deal with these jokers! What else could go wrong?" Tana then said to Ephraim nervously, "Wh...what are we going to do, Ephraim? We've never fought against ghosts before. I'm scared." "Ha! Don't you worry, Princess Tana," said Ross boldly. "Just watch me in action! I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" Sky said after him, "Me neither! Let's show them our true power!" "Now, you two are speaking my language! Let's hop to it," Forde said to back them up. "Hold it, you bloody fools," Innes snapped. They looked behind themselves at him with displeased looks. Kyle then said, "Princess Tana is right. We've never fought ghosts before, so if we were to go into battle, we would be flying blind." Gilliam then said after him, "We need to formulate a plan on how to battle them." "Wait, I may know of something," Madison came up to say. "I've done studies on creatures of the super-natural. Ghosts should have a sphere of ectoplasm in the center of their chests, which acts as their heart. If we can hit it with a powerful enough of an attack to cause serious damage, we might just be able to exorcise them." Vash then came up and said, "Exercise! Why are we going to exercise them? Being dead, I don't see why they need to stay fit." "She said exORcise, stupid," Simon said to him. "That means to remove from this world." "Oh," said Vash as to make-up for his dumb remark. After that, Ephraim said, "Tana, you should be careful, as well. I think I just saw one of those lizard creatures take hold of a ballista." "Got it," she replied. After that, they began to fight the monsters. Forde and Kyle went together as they took on the Lizardmen with their sword arms. Gilliam, Ross and Simon used their strength to fight off the minotaurs, Ephraim, Tana and Clark used their quick attacks to kill the wolfmen (one of the wolfmen dropped a Knight Crest, which Clark grabbed for himself), Innes and Vash pulled off accurate arrow shots to fight off the group of Lizard Archers, and Moulder, Sky and Madison backed the rest of them up by combining their magical prowess to draw a massive symbol which launched a devastating attack on the Slimes. Eventually, Simon threw a Short Axe at the Lizard Archer manning the ballista and decapitated him. After that, Vash took over it, and just in time, because reinforcements came in the form of three Harpies. The Archer in debt fired the giant arrows at the bird women, killing each one. He fired the last two at a couple of minotaurs, destroying them in the process. "I hope that earns me a few more bucks," Vash said to himself. Eventually, it came to a showdown with the Ghost Knights themselves. As the evil specters charged for Ephraim's party, they proved to be rather quick. Kyle and Gilliam armed their axes for the battle. They both took swipes at the Ghost Knights, but their weapons just went right through them, not even causing the phantom warriors to react in pain. Emphraim remembered what Madison said as he saw the ball of ectoplasm in their chests. Ephraim took a javelin and threw it right into the center of one of the ghosts. His ectoplasm was shattered and destroyed, causing him to vanish, and his ghost horse ran off. "It worked," Ephraim shouted. "Aim for the center of their chests, everyone!" Vash, Innes and Ross shot arrows and took down three Ghost Knights, Clark and Forde took stabs at two more with their lances and Sky hit one in the chest with a blast of thunder. "This can't be happening," the last Ghost Knight said. "I can't imagine they would be this hard." Suddenly, a lance came out of his chest through his back. He turned around to see Tana who said, "Hi." After that, she removed her lance, shattering the Ghost Knight's ectoplasmic sphere. "Nooooooooo," yelled the wraith as he disappeared into nothingness. After the battle, Moulder went over to use his staff to heal the wounds the soldiers received during battle. Soon, Ephraim said, "Alright, that's taken care of. Let's continue forward, hopefully without anymore annoyances." The group took off again. However, little did they know, a man next to a purple wyvern was watching them. The man had slightly long, greyish-green hair, dark purple armor, and black clothes and cape. Only the back of him could be seen as he said, "Heh, heh, heh. Why must fools always delay the inevitable? Still it's quite entertaining, don't you agree, Erez?" The wyvern screeched as to agree with the man. "I only hope my darling Eirika will put on an equally good show, herself, heeheeheeheehee!" After he was done talking, he got onto his wyvern and flew off.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 12.


	13. Chapter 12: Crisis in Jehanna

**Chapter 12: Crisis in Jehanna**

Inside the old mansion's main hall, the same mysterious man in white holding the staff of gold in his right hand was zapping Chester and Ingrid with what appeared to be black electricity while lifting them high into the air with his left. "You fools," he yelled out to them. "How dare you go against my orders!" Chester and Ingrid were screaming in pain as the waves of dark energy were piercing their bodies. "Wh..wh..we're sorry...Lord...Mikel," Chester struggled to say as the pain was becoming increasingly unbearable to him. The man Chester called Mikel stopped zapping them, and the two generals fell to the ground with a loud thud. Mikel appeared out of the shadows to reveal his face. He only appeared to be around 17 to 18 years old, but the demeanor on his face said something else about him. His hair was semi-long and auburn, and his coat, while mostly white, had a green collar, really short sleeves, a long, wide tail that came to the back of his ankles and mostly open in the front-bottom, and a peculiar symbol drawn in gold on the upper back. It also made a v-pattern at the top of the front, but the buttons in the center of it were fastened together. His white pants were slightly baggy. He had white boots with green trim and an intricate design, and green, fingerless gloves to complete the look. As he continued to look at Chester and Ingrid, Mikel said to them, "You two are lucky that I'm in a pleasant of enough of a mood not to kill you, considering you and the other four were almost at Death's door when I found you." "I don't understand," yelled Ingrid. "We almost had Princess Larachel! I swore that I could have spit on her when I was there. It was because of those knights that we lost her!" "You're missing the point," Mikel said to them in a deep, harsh voice. "You were to make yourselves as little known to everyone as possible. If everyone sees you following your targets too closely, they're going to get suspicious. You, the Elite Six, are to act as the trump cards. My plan is to lure the leaders into a false sense of victory, then strike them when they least expect it. But, because of your little act, the plan would've been in ruins. And I thought you two were the most experienced of Serris's knights. That obviously wasn't a good example you set out there for the others, now was it? The next time you two do something like that, I will not hesitate to kill you, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" Ingrid began to look very angered and said, "Yes, my lord, Mikel." With that, Chester and Ingrid got up and left. Shortly after, Mikel walked up the darkened staircase, and opened the door when he got up there. As he entered the room, which looked awfully lot like a study, walked towards the fireplace. He then stopped near two chairs, which had a small table with a set chessboard on top of it. He started to move the chess pieces around. After he stopped, the lit fire in the fireplace started to act funny and then, it made a symbol. The fireplace then magically opened up, almost as if it were never there. Mikel walked on through the newly opened path, and the fireplace magically reappeared behind him. After going down the long hallway, the man in white came into a large, dark room. He then walked up a little more, and tapped the ground with the tail of his staff. The big sapphire at the top started to glow brightly. Suddenly, the various markings and symbols in the room began to glow brightly with colors of red, blue, orange, yellow, green and purple. These markings covered the ground, walls and even the ceiling. There were also six giant containers filled with glowing liquid of the same colors as the markings set in a circular pattern. Starting from where Mikel was standing and going back, the first two containers had orange (left) and green liquid (right). the two behind those containers had red liquid (left) and blue liquid (right). And, the ones in the very back had yellow liquid (left) and purple liquid (right). Mikel started to walk to the very back of the room where he sat in a rather large chair made of bronze and padded with red cushions made of velvet. With the whole room lit up by the glowing drawings and containers of liquid, it began to become clear that it was a lab as there were large tables with beakers and other scientific equipment, charts showing various things such as the Periodic Table of Elements, the Solar System, the human body and more. That was also a model of the human skeleton on a stand for display, and at the very back where Mikel was sitting were tall shelves stacked high with volumes upon volumes of books. As Mikel sat down to fit some glasses he took out his pocket on to his face, Victoria and the baby she was holding appeared from Mikel's left hand side. "Hello, master," Victoria said in a quite voice. "I guess the meeting didn't go all that well." Mikel then asked her, "Was that the only thing you came to tell me?" Victoria replied, "Not really, milord. Someone is here to see you." As Victoria stepped out of the way, a man in a dark robe came in. "Ah, Farnothion," Mikel said. "So, what have you learned about our friends, these White Knights?" Farnothion then answered, "A lot. It seems their power is drawn from the Crystal of Unity. If they are all together and their bond is strong, they can unleash that power. It seems that if we were to somehow weaken the bond through some form of separation, they could be defeated. You possess enough power to do such a thing, master! With your abilities, they would be no match for you!" "Maybe," Mikel replied. "But I'm not interested in them right now. I'll leave it up to you. My main concern right now in the future leaders of Magvel. That will be all, Farnothion." The Druid then said, "But, master, think about it for a moment..." "THAT will be ALL, Farnothion," Mikel yelled out. "I am a strategist, not an egoist. While they do pose a threat, the White Knights are mere insects that can be crushed at any time. If you continue to ask me the same question, you're only going to get the same answer. Dismissed!" As Farnothion bowed and walked away, a wolfman with light purple fur and a long patch of white hair that went from it's head to it's mid-back came up to Mikel from his right and whispered into his ear just as Mikel leaned over to hear what it was going to say. As the wolfman whispered the message, Mikel said, "Really? Yes, bring her in." The wolfman bowed then walked back. A moment later, a minotaur with olive green fur, horns longer and sharper than that of an average minotaur and a large patch of white hair on the back of his head came in while holding a young girl with jet-black hair, a dark brown robe and maroon clothes, but with no footware by the collar. It was Clover. She said out loud, "Put me down you freak of a cow! I said let go of me!" The minotaur threw Clover to the ground, directly in front of Mikel. "Ow," she said out loud. "I meant for you to put me down gently!" Mikel looked down upon Clover with a crooked grin and said, "Well, it' good to see you again, little maggot. Now, tell me, what you have learned?" Clover looked at him with a disgruntled look and said to him, "I have a name. It's Clover! I wish you'd stop calling me maggot." Mikel pointed his finger at Clover and zapped the ground where she was standing, forcing her to jump back. "Okay, okay," Clover said as she was a bit frightened of getting hurt. "No need to get your knickers in a twist, sheesh! The garrison at Jehanna is almost fallen. Your forces will be at Jehanna Hall very shortly." "Very good," Mikel responded to this. "Also, I heard that two of the White Knights had an audiance with Prince Joshua. Tell me, is this true as well?" Clover heard this and said while looking to her right, "I don't know, and if I did, what help would it be to you? Now, if you paid me a little money, well, then I might be able to tell you of it, hee hee." Mikel jumped quickly out of the chair he was sitting on and landed right in front of Clover. He then put his arms behind his back, and he slowly walked towards her while looking rather calm, yet frightening with those purple eyes and start say to while she was walking backwards at the same pace, "Listen here, you pint-sized, arrogant, smart-mouthing, little brat. You'd better tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to show you horrors beyond your little imagination." Clover then said back to him, "I work for you, what could be far worse than that?" "Don't try my patience or you'll find out, first hand," he said to her in a creepy tone while surrounded by dark energy. Clover got frightened and replied, "You know, it seems that it's all coming back to me, now. I think I recall them going to have an audience with the prince to get the bounties off of their heads." "Did they mention anything about an alliance," Mikel asked her and she replied, "Now I definitely can't help you there." Mikel thought to himself for a moment then said, "Very well. I shall see what to do about this." "Great," Clover said out loud. "Can I leave now?" Mikel nodded then he lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers. The same minotaur appeared behind her. She looked up at him and said nervously, "Not again!" The minotaur picked her up by the back of her collar and walked off with her. Victoria then looked at Mikel and said, "I think I shall take my leave as well, my lord. This little one needs to be fed, anyway." Victoria bowed then walked off with the child. Just when Mikel was all by himself, another figure appeared in the shadows and began to speak to him in a raspy, yet familiar voice, "Ah, it seems my master does not wish to be disturbed right now." Mikel looked up to see who it was and said, "Hrmph? Oh, it's you. Yes, I am bothered right now. If these White Knights manage to form an alliance with the new leaders of Magvel, there could be serious trouble. We must eliminate the leaders at all cost. Only then will no one be able stand up to me. Not even those White Knights!" "Hee hee...just leave it all to me," the person said. Mikel replied, "Thank you, but that will not be necessary. All we need to do is to keep both sides busy. Farnothion will handle with the White Knights while I keep us focused on the leaders." The mysterious man then said, "Hmm... it is as you wish." Mikel smiled then said, "You know, that's what I like about you and your friends. The three of you as well as Victoria don't question me like the Elite Six of Serris. Heck, even Farnothion, who's been my main pupil for a long time tries to argue with me. No, you're better than that, and it would be a true shame to waste you. I think I made a smart choice in bringing the three of you back from an early grave yourselves, don't you agree?" "Ah, you are too kind, my lord, Mikel," the man replied.

Meanwhile, at an Inn in Jehanna, Eirika and her group were getting ready to move out after a good night's sleep. Everyone needed a rest after trying to trek through the desert, for it was very tireing. After hearing about the sudden attack that happened to Jehanna's garrison, Eirika felt there was little time left. Jules was sent out by Duessel as reconissance to see how far the enemy got on their invasion. After getting her stuff packed, Eirika said, "I think that's everything." "Great," Duessel replied. "Now, we just have to wait for Jules to return with the news on Jehanna's battle." Amelia, who was still polishing her armor, said, "I only hope for their best. I'm almost done here. Just a few more streaks and I'll be ready to put it on and go." "Just take your time, Amelia," Eirika said. "It'll be awhile before Jules gets back." Suddenly, she noticed Rizo sitting beside the back window, looking through it with a melancholy look. Eirika went over to see what was wrong and she said to him, "Hey, Rizo. What's up? You seem to be taking things pretty hard. You don't regret joining us, do you?" "Oh no," Rizo said. "There's plenty of very cute girls in this outfit. And, in very cute outfits yourselves, if you don't mind me saying, narf nrf." Eirika shook her head as she took it as a compliment and Rizo continued to talk, "It's just about Vash. I'm kind of worried about the guy, and what's become of him." Vanessa then came up to him and said, "Maybe you two will see each other again. If you know he is here, then things should be okay." "Welllllll...," Rizo started to say. "The thing is, cutie, nrff, is that he's not too, how shall we say... bright. I swear, the guy gets into so much trouble, you almost can't send the man anywhere without someone watching over him. Plus, I don't think he's going to be too happy to see me, for reasons I can't fully tell all of you just yet, naarf." "Yeah, with a face like that, I'd see why this Vash guy would be uneasy about seeing him again," Colm said under his breath with a smirk. Hearing this, Franz, who was on his right side, elbowed Colm in the side. Eirika shook her head as she looked at Colm, then looked back at Rizo and said, "Don't worry too much, okay? I'm sure we'll find him. Besides, I can tell that's not the only thing bothering you." "Neearf! What the...," Rizo exclaimed. "You can tell that just by guessing, narf?" Eirika then replied, "Well, guessing is too mild of a word. It's more like feeling. I can feel that something troubles you. Of course, I can also that you don't want to talk about, so...I won't force you to." Rizo was still in shock about what he heard Eirika say, then responded, "Yeah, thank you." Eirika then went back to check on everything else. Rizo then said to himself in thought, _"Wow! Cute and caring. Now that's quite a package, narf. I still just can't find it in myself to tell them of who I really am, but maybe if I can keep this up, they won't mind."_ Amelia then said, "Alright, I'm done polishing. Just got to get my armor on." "I'll help if you like," Franz jumped up to say and Amelia replied, "Well...okay." As Franz helped Amelia to get her armor on, they smiled to each other. Richard then smiled himself as if he could feel their attraction towards one another and said to himself, "Ah, young love. So innocent, yet so beautiful." After they were done getting everything ready, Eirika's group went outside to wait for Jules's return. Soon, the young Wyvern Rider returned to them and said with a panic, "Princess Eirika! General Duessel! We've got big trouble!" "Jules," Duessel said to him. "What with Jehanna's garrison? Is it still standing?" Jules replied, "What garrison? It's been completely demolished and the soldiers killed in the most horrible of fashions. The enemies have already made their way to Jehanna Hall. Fortunately, Prince Joshua and the others made it out before they invaded. I spoke with him and Lady Natasha recently. They and the others are going to need our help." "It's too soon for this to happen," Eirika said. "What kind of people are we dealing with? What about my brother? Have you seen him come, yet?" Jules answered, "Not yet, but I heard Prince Ephraim, along with Princess Tana and Prince Innes were on their way. What do you want do, princess?" Eirika said, "It's obvious that we have to go help Prince Joshua. There is no other answer to that question. Time to move out, everyone! Hopefully, we can stall the enemy enough until my brother makes it here to help us. Let's go!" And, with that, they began to ride towards Jehanna Hall.

At Jehanna Hall, Joshua, who was also with his future wife, Natasha, as well as his loyal vassals, Gerik, Marisa and Tethys, were outside waiting for Eirika and the others to arrive to lend them some aid. "I can't believe what's happened," exclaimed Joshua. "How did this attack come about so quickly? I was sure we would have them routed earlier, but now, here we are, trying to wait for reinforcements." Gerik then came up and said, "It is impressive how they made it here in such short notice, but what are you gonna' do? It's not like we would've survived. I mean, did you see how many there were of those...things? Sometimes, it's good to turn tail and run when the need to is great." "Chief," Marisa responded. "I never thought you'd say that!" Gerik then replied to her, "Come'on, Marisa, I'm not trying to sound cowardly, but there is a time to fight and a time to run. You're not seriously thinking of going back in there to fight them again, are you?" "Not really," Marisa answered. "Just saying." Tethys then said to the group, "So, do we just wait here for reinforcements to arrive? It could be awhile before anyone shows up." Gerik then came up to Natasha who had been quite the whole time, and said to her, "Hey there, Natasha, what's wrong? You've been a bit silent on us. You don't mind giving your two cents on this, do you?" Natasha opened her eyes rather quickly and she said, "Oh, Gerik! Sorry to worry you." "Hey, is something the matter, Natasha," Joshua came up to ask her. "Ever since this attack began, you've been awfully quite on us. C'mon, you can tell me what's the problem." "Uh...," Natasha stuttered to say. "It's... ... nothing. Really... ... just... lost in thought." Joshua then said back to her, "Well, I hope that's the only thing wrong with you. Listen, Gerik, I want you to head to Renais for right now. And take the girls and any other soldiers you can find with you." "What," Marisa said astounded and Tethys came in after her saying, "You've got to be kidding? You don't mean to wait out here for the others to show up all by yourself, do you?" "I do," Joshua answered. "You guys are only going to put yourselves in more danger if you stick with me. I can't completely put my finger on it, but something tells me that I'm the one they want." Gerik then replied, "That may be, but suicide never solved anything. It would be better if we stuck with you. It was me, after all, who saved you a while ago, remember?" "He's right," Natasha said after him. "There's no reason that you should be the only one to play the martyr here. I'm never going to leave your side for any reason, Joshua, my love. Nothing will make me leave your side, not even you." "Oh, goodness," Joshua remarked with a sigh. "How in the world could I say no to a look like that? Then again, I did fall for your pretty face when I first saw you in Serafew last year. Alright, you can stay, Natasha. The rest of you, however, your fate will be determined by a coin flip. If it's heads, you can stay with me. But, if it's tails, you do as I say and head to Renais on the double. No excuses." "It sounds reasonable enough. I accept your wager," Gerik answered and Tethys said after him, "This is ridiculous. Ooh, okay." "I'm in," Marisa replied quickly herself and Joshua said, "Okay, here it goes... ... ...tails! You guys know what that means, right?" Gerik sighed, "Yeah, I know. I know. We go to Renais to wait for your arrival. I guess we've no other choice. We'll pray for your safe return." Tethys then said looking annoyed, "Giving us orders through a coin flip. Honestly, will he ever give up gambling!" Marisa then stated to Joshua, "Don't die on us." With that, Gerik and the two other ladies took off. Soon, Joshua and Natasha were all alone. "So," Natasha started off the new conversation saying. "I guess... it's just us." "Yep," Joshua replied. Suddenly, he noticed something in the distance. "Hey, could that be," He asked out loud. "It is! Eirika's group came for us! It certainly took them long enough." As Eirika and her group came near Joshua and Natasha's location, Eirika approached him and said, "Prince Joshua, I'm glad to see that you are okay. What happened to the others who were with you?" "I sent them to Renais to wait for us. That is if we survive this whole ordeal," Joshua said with a smile. Eirika replied, "Good idea. So, are the two of you ready to meet them head on?" "Ready for anything," Joshua stated and Natasha said after him, "I'm ready, as well. I'm going to do everything to assist you, Joshua." Meanwhile, inside the castle, a Knight approached a Minotaur and said to him, "General Bortis, we've just received word that Prince Joshua is coming back to face us and he's bringing Princess Eirika with him." "Very good," Bortis replied. "It saves us the trouble of hunting them down. Tell the men to begin the advance." The Knight, "Aye, sir! By the way, I was a little nervous of asking you before, but, judging the color of your fur, and slightly longer horns, I'm guessing you're slightly different from the other Minotaurs." "How acute of you," Bortis responded. "I am in fact a Maulotaur, an advanced Minotaur. Lord Mikel has created several other advance soldiers other than myself. He's even created some using forces from the netherworld." "I see," the Knight said back to him. "Well, anyway, we're about to begin our advance very soon." Afterwards, Eirika's party made it inside Jehanna Hall. After they caught a glimpse of the many soldiers that crowded the castle, Amelia said, "Wow! Would you all look at these forces? I'm not too sure we can do this." "Me neither," Neimi remarked after her. Eirika then came up to say, "I know it looks very hard, but we have to try. It's what my brother would want." "We don't have to try," Joshua started to say. "We NEED to try! Jehanna Hall fell once, and I'll be darned if it happens again. This is one gamble that we have no choice but to take." "You're right, Joshua," Eirika replied. "It's time we took back the throne. Franz, Duessel, are the two of you ready?" Franz said in a determined manner, "Ready when you are, princess." "Same goes for me," Duessel stated. "It's about time we drove off these louts out of our land." With that, the heroes began their clash against Bortis's forces. Eirika and Joshua, being the two main sword-wielders, took on a slew of axe-wielding Fighters and Lizardmen. Franz, Jules and Vanessa brandished their lances against some on-coming Mercenaries and Myrmidons. Duessel and Rizo used their mighty axe strikes to fight off a few Knights and Soldiers. Amelia went solo against three Minotaurs. She swung her rather large sword, cutting down two of them. The last one began its assault by charging at Amelia with the intent of impaling her with its horns. Amelia stood fast to prepare for its attack. As she did, her Great Shield activated, making her armor glow. The Minotaur was thrown back by her defensive maneuver. Amelia then retaliated by throwing her Hand Axe, slitting its throat. Natasha, Artur and Lute went on the offensive against a pack of Wolfmen with blasts of light magic. Neimi used her bow against the approaching Harpies. As she was doing that, a lone Wolfman saw her and began to charge for Neimi on her right. As it jumped for her, it shouted out, "I've got you now, little girl." She looked to see it coming. Neimi took her sword in her right hand and slashed the beast across its chest, killing it. Colm used his assassination skills to back up Eirika and Joshua as he killed a few Fighters and Lizardmen in his way. Just when Eirika's company thought they had killed most of the enemy's forces, reinforcements started to appear. Some Lizard Archers appeared from the staircases while Cavaliers appeared from the other castle openings. Other reinforcements included Mages, Monks, Shamans and two Thieves as well as a few more Fighters, Knights, Wolfmen, Minotaurs and Harpies. As they saw the many soldiers who began to surround them, Joshua yelled out, "This is crazy! At this rate, we'll be dead before we can ever reach the throne in time." Eirika then replied, "We can't give up now! If we lose here, the world will meet a terrible fate." Natasha began to say to herself in thought, "Oh, Mikel, what would do at at time like this, my friend?"

Just then, at the lower left, Ephraim appeared, followed by Tana, Innes and the rest of the group. Ephraim came up and said, "Alright, it looks as if we appeared just in time to help Eirika and the others." "Just barely," Innes stated and Tana said after, "We'd better hurry. I'd wish for nothing bad to happen to Eirika." After their verbal exchange, Ephraim then said out loud to his team, "Alright everyone, it's time we went to help my sister. Let's move out!" The rescuers began their advance to fight off the extra reinforcements. Just as the enemy was closing in on Eirika's worn out forces, Ephraim jumped up and shoved his lance into the chest cavity of a Cavalier. Tana came in after him as she whipped out her sword against some Mages. Vash and Innes shot down a few Harpies, while Kyle, Forde and Gilliam rushed in to take down a few Minotaurs. Clark, Simon and Ross went in to help Ephraim with the Cavaliers he was fighting as well as the few Lizard Archers. Madison, Sky and Moulder came in last to use their magic to wipe out the remaining enemies. Seeing the help they received, Eirika and her companions went to kill the few remaining stragglers. After the enemies were defeated, Eirika approached her brother and said, "Ephraim! You came for me!" "Duh," Ephraim replied with a smirk. "I could never live with myself if anything really bad happened to you. You should talk to Innes. He's the one who got word of the attack on Jehanna, and told me about it." "Innes," Eirika asked curiously. Innes then came up to say to her, "I'm glad that you're safe, Eirika. A second later, and Ephraim would never let me hear the end of it." "I'm happy to see that you're okay, as well," Tana replied. Afterwards, Rizo noticed Vash in Ephraim's group and called out to him, "Hey, Vash! How's it going, narf!" Vash heard Rizo's voice with great fear as he knew who it was. He slowly turned his head to see Rizo and said out loud, "RIZO! Ahhhhh!" The scared Archer quickly ran up all the way and hid behind Duessel. "You stay away from me," he yelled out, pointing to the rat-faced Pirate. "I know that you were sent here by Captain Jack to break my knees for not paying that stupid debt off! I told you guys it would take me some time before I could come up with the money! Oh, this can't be happening." Rizo heard this and replied, "If you're going on about that, there's no need to for you to worry. I'm not here to collect, silly. However, I did come to find you that make sure that you weren't getting into trouble, like you always do." "What's that supposed to mean," Vash yelled back to him. Ephraim then came up to say, "As interesting as this sounds, we have more important business to be tending to right now." "I couldn't agree more, narf," Rizo remarked and Vash responded as he slowly got off of Duessel's horse, "O..O…kay..." Innes stepped in to reply after Ephraim, "Everyone, the reunions are going to have to wait! The first priority is to send the rest of these curs out of here." "Affirmative," Ephraim said in agreement. As the two combined forces got ready to meet with the enemies' leader, Colm decided to go loot some treasures. He killed the two Thieves that were about to beat him to the punch. In one room, he opened two chests, which contained an Elysian Whip and an Armorslayer. Colm then headed over to the second room in a blur of speed and got to another chest, in which netted him an Energy Ring. As the heroes made their way to the center of the castle where Bortis was occupying the throne, two Cavaliers quickly came their way. Clark, who skills were starting to improve, decided to take them on. As he managed to kill them, the Knight Crest he was carrying with him began to glow. He quickly took it out of his carrying pack and observed it. "I think it's ready for me," Clark said. He then focused his spirit and his thoughts into the glowing item. In moments, the young Soldier was enveloped in radiating light. This light began to glow brighter and brighter. Then, in a brilliant and dazzling explosion of energy, everything went white. As the view was starting to come back in, it appeared that Clark's armor had changed and looked more extravagant than before, but still relatively light. Clark had went from a Soldier to a Halberdier. "Alright, I've done it! This is amazing," Clark yelled out and Gilliam appeared next to him on his horse and said, "Nice going there, Clark. Now, you truly are ready for battle." "Thank you, Lord Gilliam," Clark replied to his teacher. "It is only through your teaching that I am worthy of this honor." The two knights went to rejoin the fight. As everyone drew closer to the throne room, two Slimes appeared from the bottom staircases. Vanessa and Tana went together to defeat them with their swords. The two Knights that were with Bortis the whole time went to hold off Ephraim and Eirika's combined forces. They were no problem for the axe swipes of Simon and Rizo. Finally, only Bortis remained. "Well, this is certainly an upset," Bortis smirked. "But, the throne is still mine. You may wish to take it back if you like, but doing so will only grant you a meeting with the rider of the pale horse. Of course, you wish to do this anyway." Joshua stepped up and asked the Maulotaur, "Why did all of you decide to attack us? What was your reason to do this to Jehanna? I heard from Ephraim and Eirika that you always talk about this 'master.' Tell me, what does he want with us?" "How should I know," Bortis responded. "Honestly, I was never told anything. However, thanks to him, he has brought new meaning to my worthless life as a human. I was just a pitiful being back then, but now, I have evolved into something… greater." Eirika thought to herself, "That's exactly what Morgart said back in Grado. They don't know what they are really fighting for. Are we now just fighting enemies with no justifiable reason?" Bortis then became irritated and said, "Enough of this chit-chat! I'm going to do this, reason or no reason!" As the fight began, Bortis showed that he was truly different from other Minotaurs as he began to fire bolts of energy from the tips of his horns. These blasts were quick and hard to evade. One was about to hit Natasha, but Joshua, without a moment's notice, ran if front of her. The energy bolt hit Joshua in the back. "Joshua," Natasha said in concern. "Are you alright?" Joshua then replied to her smiling as if he were trying to ignore the pain, "Yeah, I'm fine. I couldn't afford to see you hurt, though. Stand back, Natasha. I'm going to take this humanoid heifer on by myself." "Bring it, my liege," Bortis stated after hearing Joshua's remark. The Swordmaster and prince made a charge for Bortis with his blade in front of him. The Maulotaur started to fire energy missiles at him sporadically, but Joshua proved to be a little too agile for them. Joshua then jumped out at the beast, and then lunged his sword into Bortis's throat. Joshua pulled his blade from the monster's neck, and Bortis began to stumble to his knees as he was gasping for air and said, "No. Is this… truly the end…?" Bortis and the rest of the soldiers with him crumbled into dust. Joshua picked up the Hero Crest Bortis was carrying with him. Richard, Natasha and Moulder decided to go assess the injuries, and began to heal the others. Natasha personally saw it to herself to heal the wound Joshua suffered. As the burn mark went away, Joshua said to her in a clam voice, "Thank you, lovely." "Just happened to be in the neighborhood," Natasha replied calmly herself. Joshua then kissed her on her right cheek. Natasha started to blush a little. Soon, Simon appeared up to Joshua and said to him, "Hope we weren't too late." "No, you weren't," Joshua said back to him. "I appreciate you coming for us, Simon. I trust things in Carcino went well." Simon replied, "Not really, but at least we were able to save the old man, and we even brought his grandson." Sky then stepped and said, "Yeah, that would be me. I am Sky, the grandson of Council-Leader, Klimt." "You're kidding," Eirika stated in a shocked manner. "I didn't know he had one." Tana responded, "It's a long story. We couldn't believe it ourselves." "It's like I said to the others," Sky remarked. "I try to keep it as secret as possible. Rest assured, I am the grandson of Klimt, and a student of Master Saleh of Caer Pelyn. I am here to fight at your side, Princess Eirika." Eirika smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Lord Sky." Forde approached Franz and Amelia. "Brother," Franz shouted to him. "I'm so glad you were able to make it here!" Forde said back to his younger brother, "What? C'mon, you must've had more faith in me than that. Nothing was going to keep me from seeing my little brother and his girlfriend." This caused Amelia to blush, then Franz said irritably, "Forde! You're embarrassing us!" Forde couldn't help but chuckle. Jules came up to Madison and said to her, "Hey there, cousin. Glad to see you made it." "Jules," Madison said out loud with great amazement. "I can't believe you're here. What about your parents? Are you sure they will be alright without you there to help them?" "Don't worry, Madison," Jules replied. "They were escorted to safety by General Duessel and Lady Amelia. I'm pretty sure they're okay." Madison then smiled and said, "Really, well I'm happy for you, and I'm equally happy that you are here with me, dear cousin." After that, Vanessa came in front of Innes. "Prince Innes," Vanessa said quietly and Innes responded, "Hey, Vanessa. What's wrong?" Vanessa stood there quietly for a minute, then ran up to Innes tearing up. She then put her arms around him and said, "Oh, thank god you came for us. You don't know how happy I am to see you." Innes smiled serenely then put his arms around her. They both just stood there without saying a word. Gilliam, Moulder and Clark looked at the two and smiled widely. Duessel then approached Ephraim and began to talk with him. "Glad to see you all could make it on such short notice," Duessel said to Ephraim and he replied, "I'm glad to see you again, Duessel. I knew my mentor wouldn't go down that easily. I heard about the rebellion in Grado. Something similar happened in Carcino. Klimt told us that the mercenaries that occupied the entire nation were once his loyal citizens. What could that be about?" Eirika stepped up and said, "And what's with these knights in the peculiar armor? I fought some of them back in Serafew. The design of the armor they wear is different from any I've seen on this continent, even more so with their fighting styles." They all pondered on this and Duessel said, "Too many strange things have been occurring here. I don't know if all of this has anything to do with the vision you two have, but with the way things are going, I'm getting this dangerously odd vibe that something or someone is pulling the very strings of Magvel, just like what Lyon apparently told you. One way or another, we can't let this go on. If we could only get a lead, then we wouldn't be in such a shroud of ignorance." "So," Ephraim started to say after Duessel got done talking. "Where do we go from here." Joshua came forward and stated, "I think we should head to Renais. I sent Gerik there, along with Tethys and Marisa, in case you guys didn't come." Ephraim nodded and said, "Good thinking. We should all head there to regroup and assess our supplies. If we're lucky, we might be able to get some more clues on who's doing this." "Well, let's stop chewing the fat, and go already," Forde barged in to say and Kyle replied, "Down, cowboy! But, you're right, if we stay here too much longer, we're going to be sitting ducks, ready for another assault." Duessel remarked, "I learned my lesson the first time around. Alright, we head to Renais! It's time to leave right now." Vash was still moping about having to travel with Rizo, but he went along with it anyway. As the gang was getting ready to move out, Natasha stood there with her eyes closed, and said quietly, "Mikel, where ever you are, please, lend me your strength to move forward." Just then, Joshua, who was beside her said, "Did you say anything, Natasha?" "Oh," Natasha replied as she came back to reality. "No… not really…. Let's go." Joshua looked at her with a worried demeanor as his future wife ran off to get everything prepared to go and said, "Oh, Natasha, what are you thinking about right now?"

To Be Concluded in Chapter 13.


	14. Chapter 13: The Dark Stones

**Chapter 13: The Dark Stones**

At long last, Ephraim and Eirika were reunited together. The twins joined forces to relieve Jehanna Hall of the enemies who had destroyed the nation's garrison. With the castle free of monsters and enemy soldiers, it enjoyed a moment of silence, but even then, Jehanna's ruler, Joshua and his bride-to-be, Natasha were still not safe. They decided to travel with the twins of Renais, who were also being hunted as well as Innes and Tana of Frelia. Ephraim thought to himself that if he, his sister and the other heirs traveling with them are being stalked, maybe a similar thing is happening with L'Arachel. Suffering through attack after attack after brutal attack, none of them had any idea who was responsible for these atrocities, and what that person's purpose was. They only knew that it would happen again. Right now, the company was headed towards Renais to find and locate Gerik, Marisa and Tethys, whom Joshua sent there.

Eventually, the group crossed the Jehanna-Renais border, and made they're way to the land of the twins' birth. Once they got there, Gerik, who was also with Tethys and Marisa, went up to greet them. "Well, I'll be a pegasus's uncle, seems our little prince did return to us after all," Gerik said. "And with help, no less. Glad you could make it back." Joshua replied, "Thanks, Gerik. I know what I did was a risky gamble, but I got lucky when Princess Eirika and Prince Ephraim came to lend me assistance." "Lucky," Tethys asked him in a less than pleasant tone. "You could have got yourself killed, and then Jehanna's hope would have been gone with the wind! I swear, with the trouble you get yourself into, you're just like my little brother, Ewan! Just be grateful that Natasha stayed behind to watch over your sorry butt!" Joshua said back to her, "Ouch! Sometimes, Tethys, I don't know if you're trying to be a vassal or my babysitter. Kind of sounds weird to hear all that coming from someone who dances rather provocatively, wouldn't you agree?" "You… you…," Tethys stuttered. "I… do not… dance that… way!" Joshua laughed a little then Marisa approached him and said, "I'm glad you are alive. So… glad." "Hey, Marisa," Joshua came up to say to her as he noticed a tear in her right eye. "Are you… crying?" Marisa came to her senses and responded, "What? I don't cry! I'm supposed to be your stalwart vassal." "Aw, it's okay to cry, Marisa," Natasha said to comfort her. "Feelings are not a weakness, you know." Marisa was just silent after that. Gerik saw Simon among the gang, and called out to him, "Simon! Didn't expect you to show up so soon." "Well, you know how these things go," Simon said back to his friend. "One minute, you're getting ready for a meeting with the leader of Carcino. The next, the whole place is surrounded by mercenaries and monsters. Still, can't say it was complete loss." "No, you can't," Gerik replied. "It's great to see you could help out." Gerik and Simon locked their right arms together as to show how strong their friendship was. Ephraim and Eirika approached Gerik after he was done greeting Simon. Gerik began to say to them, "It's good to see that the two of you are okay, as well. I trust Innes and Tana are also with you?" "Yeah, they're with us," remarked Ephraim. The Frelian prince and princess appeared in front of Gerik. "Well met, Gerik," Innes said first then Tana stated after him, "I guess we're all together, now! So, where do we go from here?" "Hrmm…," Ephraim said with a stymied look. "We really need to find a lead on who has been causing these problems. Eirika's and my vision didn't fully show us who was responsible, so I think we still need to get some clues." Eirika replied. "It would be a good start. I just hope we'll be able to run into Seth sometime. Duessel told me he was okay and was riding with some mercenaries called the White Knights." Ephraim heard this and said to her, "Well, I'm just glad he's not hurt or anything. I'm sure we will run into him eventually." Eirika nodded to him with a bright smile. After their friendly exchanges, the small army went to the base they had set up to get some gear ready. They bought a few weapons from the caravan, set up the steeds, and prepared the rest of the gear.

Meanwhile, Ross, Amelia and Franz were taking a small walk outside to enjoy the pleasant weather. "Hey, Ross," Amelia called out to him and he looked at her behind him. "I want to thank you and the others for coming for us." Franz said after her, "Yeah that was great rescue you made. Especially since you were with my brother, Forde." Ross smiled confidently and said to the young General and Paladin while continuing to walk forward , "Well, what can I say? Being the son of the Great Garcia does have its advantages." Just then, a large wagon being pulled by a burrow sped across. As it did, it ran over a puddle, splashing water all over Ross. After getting completely soaked, Ross looked back at the wagon that passed him and kept going to the west with an angry look, and said out loud, "Hey, what's your problem, buddy!" Suddenly, the wagon's front-right wheel hit a rock embedded into the ground. As it did, some objects fell out of the back. As they saw them, Amelia and Franz quickly went to get the rider to stop. "Sir," Franz called out. "You dropped something!" Amelia followed by saying, "Please, stop!" But, the wagon just kept going. As the two of them began to come to a halt, they noticed the objects on the ground were five stones colored of black and purple. Amelia kneeled down to look at the rocks, and said, "Wow! These stones look rather pretty, almost like dark crystals." "Wait," Franz said as he noticed something odd about the stones. "They're emitting smoke. What is it?" Ross, who was trying to dry himself off, ran up to them and said, "What's happening?" "Oh, Ross," Franz said to the 15 year old Warrior as he came up to him and Amelia. "We found some odd stones. They seem to be smoking, but we don't know why." Ross went up and tapped one of them with his axe a little and said, "Do you think they're safe to touch?" Afterwards, Artur and Lute came outside. They saw the three kids around the stones, and went to see what they were up to. As the two approached, Artur said, "Hey there. What are you doing?" Franz looked up and said back to them, "We found these mysterious rocks that seem to be smoking, but we don't know why." Lute took a close look at this so-called "smoke" and put a terrified look as she knew what it really was. "That's no smoke," she said to the three, young soldiers. "It's miasma!" "Mi… as… ma," asked Amelia with a confused look. Lute began to talk again, "Yes, miasma, a poisonous substance usually given off by a demonic force. Fortunately, it seems the miasma these stones are emitting is still pretty faint. These couldn't be Dark Stones, could they? I thought there was only one, the one created by Prince Lyon. Whoever created these was very talented. Almost makes me jealous." "Are they still safe to touch, Lute," Artur asked her and she replied, "The miasma isn't too strong, so I'd say yes. I think each of us should take one, and then send them back to the others. They need to know of what we found." Each one of the five took a stone and began to run off. "Wow, Lute, you sure know a lot about this stuff," Amelia complimented her and she replied, "Of course. I am a prodigy, after all." Artur could only sigh as he she always had this attitude. But he could put up with, especially since Lute and he were to be married.

After some running, the five of them finally made it back to the base to show Ephraim, Eirika and the others what they found. The stones were placed on a small table where they were observed closely with a mixture of fascination and concern. "Where did you find these," asked Ephraim to the five who brought them in and Amelia said, "They fell out of a wagon that passed us and got Ross wet." The others looked at Ross very funny, and then he whispered to Amelia, "Amelia, you could've left that part out." Amelia began to speak again, "Once the wagon hit this thing in its way, these stones came out, and we decided to observe them. It was Lute here who deduced that the stones were emitting… uh…." "Miasma," Lute came in quickly to correct her and Amelia began to talk again, "Right, miasma. Anyway, she said that there was a possibility of then being Dark Stones, similar to the one Lyon made one year ago." "That can't be possible," Eirika stated with a fearful expression and Tana began to say, "This doesn't make any sense. I thought the Dark Stone was destroyed when we killed the Demon King." Innes then replied, "We did destroy the Demon King, sis, but as for the Dark Stone, there was no sign." Rizo came up to them and asked, "Excuse me, narf, but would you all mind sharing some information on this whole thing, so some of us won't be left in the dark, nnearf?" "I hate to agree with him, but I must," Vash replied. "I'm rather curious myself." "It's a really long story, and unfortunately we don't have time to tell it right now," Ephraim remarked. "All I can say is that whoever created these stones, it's very probable that person could be the one we are searching for. It's not a very solid clue, but we should all be wary and alert." Eventually, Richard began to hear something coming towards the base. It was sound of soldiers approaching them. "I think we have unexpected company," Richard said. "It seems we have been discovered." Forde sighed and said, "Not again! We just got here." "We'd better see what they want," Kyle stated. The whole group went outside to meet the forces who had them surrounded. They saw groups of soldiers wearing that peculiar armor that the knights back in Serafew and Jehanna Hall wore. Amongst them included some Knights, Cavaliers, Mages, Fighters, Mercenaries, Myrmidons, Pegasus Knights, Brigands, Soldiers and Monks. Amongst them was a Great Knight, who appeared to be commanding them. The Great Knight began to speak to his soldiers, "Alright, looks like the information we received was accurate. Men, it is now time for us to slay these evil beings and bring order back to our home… and the world." "Aye, aye, Commander Schneider," a Cavalier next to him said. The enemy soldiers began their advance on the twins' forces. The heroes launched a counter-offensive. Ephraim, Kyle, Forde and Tana began to fight off some Cavaliers who were making their move. Clark, Gilliam and Vanessa went to take down the Mercenaries and Myrmidons. The Mages and Monks were being dealt with by Moulder, Sky, Madison, Artur and Lute. Simon, Duessel and Jules battled the oncoming Soldiers. Amelia, Ross and Rizo decided to take the offensive to the Knights. Neimi, Innes and Vash were busy shooting down Pegasus Knights. And, last but not least, the main swordfighters, being that of Eirika, Colm, Gerik, Joshua and Marisa went to fight against the Fighters and Brigands. Eirika cut down one of the Brigands before he could destroy a village. She then went to warn the people of the village of the attack, and was given an Antitoxin for doing so. The battle continued to rage on, and Eirika and Ephraim's forces were getting very tired. Tethys went to dance for some for them to get their energy back up while Richard went to heal some of their wounds.

As the fight continued, appearing from the north were three people, a Mage Knight, a Berserker and a Rogue. The three turned out to be none other than L'arachel, Dozla and Rennac. L'arachel stepped up and said, "Well, we finally made it to Renais. See you two, I knew we would be able to find our way here." "Gwa, ha, ha, ha, ha," Dozla laughed as his usual self. "I never doubted you for a minute, my princess! Say, Rennac, how are you doing? I trust your feeling better than before." Rennac scowled at Dozla and said, "Funny you should say that, old man, since you were the one who caused me that injury!" Dozla looked confused and replied, "What are you talking about Rennac. I was one who lifted that tree off of you when it fell, or did it loosen a few more marbles than we thought? I practically carried you on my back when you were hurt." Rennac responded to this saying, "Yeah, and then you forgot I was on your back, and you decided to lie down and rest… on me! I swear, it felt like I got body slammed by a bull!" "And, I was gracious enough to heal you, wasn't I," said L'arachel with a cute smile. Dozla then said, "Yeah, besides, it's not my fault you're so lightweight for a man. I've lifted many other objects in my time, some a lot heavier I'll say, gwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Rennac could only put on irritable look. L'arachel started to speak again, "It's time we went to help our friends! It seems they are doing battle with a particular group of soldiers, whose armor I've never seen of that design. I wonder if that's connected to the four of those five people back at Darkling Woods? No matter, it's time to move! Are you ready, Dozla and Rennac!" "Just leave it to me," Dozla replied with great enthusiasm and Rennac, in his usual, constipated state said to himself, "I don't get paid enough for this kind of work. Honestly, I should've just taken the money back then, and ran without even looking back. *sigh* This is what I get for being one of the good guys." The three of them started to head out to meet with the twins and their comrades. As L'arachel and her two vassals were coming in closer towards Ephraim's location, he noticed her and began to move closer to her. "Prince Ephraim," L'arachel yelled out to him. "This must truly be a day for blessings! It is so wonderful to see that you are okay." "Likewise," Ephraim replied to her. "I was thinking that you were suffering attacks just like the rest of us." The Rausten Princess answered, "Oh, we have. Twice, even. Once, we were attack by these wolf-like creatures back in Rausten, and another time near Jehanna by some other monsters as well as two human generals. It was very horrible, I tell you!" Ephraim began thinking to himself about these 'generals,' then he said back to L'arachel, "Well, it's good to see you are here. Innes, Tana and Joshua are also with us as they too have been assaulted. We even have the grandson of Council Leader Klimt with us. We're still trying to find a lead on who our real antagonist is. So far, we found some objects that might strike some interests in you. They're our only clue right now, but it's the best we have." L'Arachel then responded, "I'll have to see those sometime. Is Eirika with you?" "Yeah, she is," said Ephraim. "She's dealing with a few soldiers right now, but I know she'll be happy to see you." L'arachel smiled as brightly as she could and said, "That's great! Well, let's get to it! Dozla and Rennac, we shall help Ephraim and Eirika starting right now!" "Gwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, and help them we shall," Dozla bellowed out. Rennac sighed and said, "Do this, do that, honestly when will she learn that I'm just a mere thief? My fighting skills are none to everyone else's." He quickly put his right arm around Ephraim and said to him, "Just remember, because I've been escorting her most of these past few days recently, I get a 10% raise for this, and it's not up for negotiation." Ephraim found it hard to reply then L'arachel came to Ephraim's left side and said to Rennac, "There will not be any raises today," as she thumped his hand. As Rennac removed his arm off of Ephraim and began to shake his hand to get rid of the small thing of pain, L'arachel continued to talk saying, "You'll get paid regular price just like everyone else, capiche?" Rennac gave her a disgruntled look. As the fighting continued to heat up, reinforcements of Archers came in from the south side of where Schneider was while some Wyvern Riders appeared north of him, and two Shamans came from behind him. At the same time, near the base, a Mercenary and a Myrmidon appeared out of the forts. Clark decided to take on the reinforcements closest to the base. Jules went to fight off the Wyvern Riders. Amelia and Gilliam held fast for the Archers as their strong defense would be too much for their arrows. Artur and Moulder were ready for the Shamans to arrive. Jules was fighting the Wyvern Riders ever so viciously. As he took them down, the Elysian Whip that Colm picked up in Jehanna Hall began to glow just like the Knight Crest did for Clark. Jules knew it was time, so he focused his concentration into the item. The young Wyvern Rider was enveloped in bright light. As the light faded, Jules's armor looked very shiny and slightly heavier. He had a cape, and his wyvern, Gustov, looked bigger and stronger with a longer tail and broader wingspan. Jules had now become a Wyvern Lord. "Yeah," Jules said as he had finally achieved what he strived for. "Just wait until General Duessel and Madison see us in action, Gustov." Jules immediately went back to the caravan to pick up a Steel Axe as he could now use one. The enemies now just consisted of the Great Knight, Schneider, along with two Cavaliers on the sides of him and a Knight in front. Jules decided to take his axe to the Cavalier wielding the Javelin, Ross defeated the Knight, and Tana killed the Cavalier wielding the sword. Finally, Schneider was the only one left. "These people… they fight like demons," panicked Schneider. "I must do this for my home… for my people! Arrghh!" Schneider made rush for the group as he tried to throw a Short Spear at Ross, but was quickly deflected by a swing of his axe. Schneider then brandished his Steel Blade, and began to swing wildly. Vanessa parried his attack, and then Dozla came out attempting to strike him with his Battle Axe. Schneider pulled out of the way, but his horse got grazed by the blow. L'arachel conjured an Elwind attack to hit him, and it did, as well as disarming him of his weapon. Just as he was about to retaliate by hitting her with his Short Axe, Eirika immediately jumped up and slashed him across the chest with her Rapier. Schneider fell to the ground and said under his breath, "*cough*… Chester, Ingrid…, forgive me." After that, all of the soldiers and their steeds turned to dust, leaving nothing but their clothes, armor, weapons and other items. L'arachel was just baffled by what had just happened. She then saw Eirika approach her and went up to her good friend saying, "Hello, Eirika! I'm glad to see you still look as lovely and vibrant as ever, just like myself, hee hee." "I'm fine, L'arachel," said Eirika with reasurement. "I also have Tana here, as well." Tana came up and said, "Hey, L'arachel, it's been awhile. I think the last time was when you invited Eirika and me over for tea that time." "Oh, yes, you are most right Tana," L'arachel answered. "We need to do it again, but for now, show me these objects you were talking to me about before, Prince Ephraim." Ephraim replied, "Sure, they're in our tent. Please come with us." As the group began to walk back, Rizo started to mumble to himself, "I don't get it, narf. Why did those men attack us? I knew them, and yet, nrf, they didn't hesitate in trying to kill me or any of the others here, nnrff." "Hey, Rizo," Ephraim called him and replied, "Yes, narff?" Ephraim continued to talk, "What are you thinking about?" "Oh, ah… nothing. I'm coming, narf nerff." As they got back to the tent, L'arachel and Dozla looked closely at the objects picked up by Ephraim and Eirika's party (Rennac didn't show much interest). "This… can't be," L'arachel murmured. "Where did you find these?" Ephraim began to speak, "We found them after they fell out of a passing wagon. We suspect it was carrying more. What do you make of them?" "Hmm…," L'arachel said. "An odiferous stench of miasma, dark coloration, crystallized structure. There's no doubt about it, these are Dark Stones." Everyone who was with her in the same room put on serious looks. L'Arachel began to speak again, "However, they don't seem quite as powerful as the real thing, but it would still take someone with a high degree of intelligence to construct one, even more to produce a greater number. We also have some information to share with you all, Dozla?" Dozla came up and began to say, "We saw five people go into Darkling Woods. The funny thing is that they were wearing armor similar to what those soldiers were wearing. Rennac got this feeling that way were a lot stronger than they looked. Eventually, we ran into Saleh of Caer Pelyn along with Knoll and Lady Myrrh. They claimed that they were about to venture to Darkling Woods themselves to investigate something that was bothering Myrrh." "That does sound interesting," Eirika appeared to reply. Ephraim began to ponder this and responded, "What does this all mean? Is there some connection? If we only had more clues, then we could solve this and end it posthaste." Just then, everyone heard a rustling sound coming from outside. "What was that," Tana said nervously and Innes said, "I think we have a spy!" Everyone began to hurry outside to find the culprit. It appeared to be a Brigand, who was starting to run away. "Innes," Ephraim yelled out and he shouted, "On it!" Innes fired an arrow at the Brigand's left hamstring, causing him to fall. Immediately, Ephraim and Innes ran over to the Brigand to interrogate him. As they turned him over, they noticed he had a purple glow in his eyes. "So you're one of them, aren't you," Ephraim asked the spy who remained silent. Innes then made a turn to say to him, "Tell us, who are you working for!" "And, does he have anything to do with these," Ephraim asked a second time showing him one of the Dark Stones. The Brigand then spoke, "I ain't sayin' anything!" Ephraim then said coldly, "Fine with us." He then held his Reignlief over the Brigand has was about to puncture his throat. The Brigand began to panic and said, "Alright, alright, I'll talk, I'll talk!" "Then do so," Innes said deeply. As the Brigand began to catch his breath he replied, "Yes, our master created those stones. He claims to be a type of scientist. He created these stones to give those of us extra power." "Can you give us a name," Ephraim asked calmly. As the Brigand said nothing, Ephraim yelled out, "Tell us!" The man stuttered then said, "His… his name is… Mi… Mi… MIKEL!" Natasha was then absolutely startled by what she heard the name the Brigand called out, almost if the very air she was breathing just left her body. "It… it… can't be," Natasha said to herself quietly as sorrow was enshrouding her. Joshua looked at Natasha's pale appearance and wanted to ask her if she was alright, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Just then, the Brigand fell an instant pain hit his back. It turned out that a floating scythe made of gold and encrusted with jewels impaled his heart from the back. "No… why, milord?" The scythe immediately flew straight out into the distance at an incredible speed while spinning. The Brigand's body then turned to dust. Ephraim and Innes got back to their feet. Natasha, while still shaking like a leaf began to say to herself, "This isn't possible. There's no way it can be! Why… why…?" Joshua then went over to Natasha who looked like she was about to cry and he put his arms around her to give her some comfort. Ephraim put on a serious look and said to himself, "Mikel." As the scythe continued to spin out in the distance, it was coming toward a man standing on a cliff which turned out to be Mikel. Just when the scythe came incredibly close, he caught it right side up. In a flash of light, it turned into the same gold staff that Mikel always carried with him. "I really hate people who can't keep their mouths shut," Mikel said to himself. "I guess I'll have to make an appearance." Mikel then walked off.

Meanwhile, in Darkling Woods, Saleh, Knoll and Myrrh finally made it to the Black Temple. "Well, here we are," Knoll said first then Saleh responded. "Let's find whatever is bothering Myrrh and get out of here. Myrrh, do you feel anything whatsoever?" Myrrh tried to feel around for any dark presences. "Only a little," Myrrh answered, "But, it's incredibly faint. There was something here recently, but I can't say much else. It seems that the presence is coming from the back room, or what was left of it anyway." The three of them started to make their way for the backroom of the temple. Once they got there, Saleh and Knoll began to search around, but couldn't find anything. "Nothing my part," replied Saleh. "What about you, Knoll?" Knoll said to him, "Nothing here either. There was something, but whatever it was, it's not here anymore." Just then, Knoll noticed some tracks. "Wait," he said. "Look at these tracks, Saleh. I don't think these could be ours. Looking at them, I'd say five people were in fact here. Two of these people must have been riding horses, the other three were on foot. I guess what Princess L'arachel and Dozla told us wasn't so off-key after all." Saleh then asked him, "So these people came in here and took the object. I don't see any tracks going back to the entrance, so they probably warped out of here. These tracks stopped here, then another person walked up to this spot, which is where the item they were looking for laid. I think we should give this information to Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika on the double. I think at this time, L'arachel and her companions should have reached them by now." "I'll help," Myrrh said immediately with a smile. "If I go into dragon form, the two of you could ride on my back." "Good idea," Knoll replied. Myrrh did just that, and both Saleh and Knoll got on. After they did, Myrrh wasted no time and took off.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 14.


	15. Chapter 14: Enter Mikel

**Chapter 14: Enter Mikel**

Inside the old mansion's main lobby, Emanuel, Phyllis, Molly and Damon were all together conversing with one another. "So, is it true," asked Molly. "Did Lady Ingrid and Lord Chester get punished by Master Mikel?" Emanuel answered, "Yes, I'm afraid so. They had apparently found Princess L'arachel and her vassals, and were just about to attack them, but they missed their attempt after some knights clad in white armor came in to fight them. However, they weren't punished for that. It was for going against Mikel's orders that they got what they received."

Phyllis then began to speak, "I still can't believe it! Those two have never even missed their target since they became the leaders of the Elite Six! And what's with these orders that Mikel has given us? It just doesn't add up!"

"Okay, that's enough," shouted Damon. "So they got punished, there's no reason to make a blasted case out of this! Yeah, Chester and Ingrid screwed up, so what? Everyone's prone to it, no matter who you are."

Emanuel then stated, "That may be true, Damon. But, think to yourself for a moment, what do you think these orders we've been receiving are for? Do you think they could really be for the restoration for our homeland, or are we helping in something that could be completely different from our original goal? And what do you think that stone we picked up in the Black Temple is for?"

"Uh…," Damon started to say. "You've… got a good point there. Still, I'm not the logical one like you are, Emanuel. My only one reason here is to fight and that is it. Whether Serris gets restored or not, I still fight for its honor, and isn't that the only thing that matters right now?" "Damon," Molly said with a serene smile then Phyllis came in to say, "Wow, Damon, I'm impressed! For a guy who's usually of a one-track mind and hard to relate with, you can certainly make some sense." "Yeah, I certainly c… wait, what did you just say?" Damon began to say with a smile, but quickly went to surprise.

At that time, Victoria, along with the infant she was holding, appeared in front of the four knights. "Glad to see that you are all here," she said with a smile. "I have good news for all of you. My master says that he has need of you." "You mean we're about to fight against Magvel's leaders," Molly asked and Victoria replied, "If all goes to our planning, yes."

Phyllis got very excited and said, "Yippee, I'm actually going to meet Price Ephraim. This is just too good to be true." Emanuel came behind her smiling and said, "Well, you seem to be in high spirits, Phyllis." "Emanuel, it's bad enough that she's getting all in a tizzy over this," Damon said with an irritated look. "But, you don't exactly have to go encouraging her."

Victoria then spoke again saying, "Let's see, all of you but Emanuel are to come with me. That is what I was told to say." "What, go without Emanuel," Phyllis asked shocked and Damon began to get angry saying, "Why isn't Emanuel supposed to go with us? Let me tell you something, lady, he's one of our strongest members! In fact, he's second in ability to Chester and Ingrid!" "Exactly," Victoria responded. "Right now, we only have need of the three of you. Emanuel will be needed at a later time." Emanuel smiled and said, "Don't worry about me guys. I'll catch up with you all later. What's important is that you get there as soon as possible, okay?" Molly then said, "Emanuel… I hope… to see you out there soon." "Don't keep us waiting. I can't wait to see your sword skills in action," Phyllis exclaimed smiling widely. Last but not least, Damon said, "We'll be sure to save some for you, bro." As the three of them got done saying there farewells to Emanuel, Victoria then said, "It's time to leave. Let's go."

Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika made their way to a town in Renais, along with their followers. The name of the town was Menthor, and it was the largest in the entire nation. It was famous for its giant clock tower, which stood in the northern-most area. The town was so massive, that it was always bustling with business. In fact, the twins loved coming here on special occasions. Right now, the company needed to purchase more supplies and get some rest from their weary travels. They also decided to get a bite to eat as their continuous battles made them rather hungry. As both their convoy and stomachs were full, they each took the local inn to rest up. On the next day, everyone gathered near the clock tower to discuss what their plans were going to take them.

"So, Brother," Eirika started off. "Where do you think we should go? Just about everywhere we've been has suffered an attack, and it would be very unwise to revisit most of these areas." Ephraim began to reply, "Hrmm… let me think…." Just then, L'arachel came in and said, "Why don't we head to Rausten? I doubt they've suffered an attack. Especially since most of them were aimed for us. I suggest we head there before anymore tragedy occurs." "A very logical choice," Innes responded. "Also, we need to find any information we can on this person named Mikel. If he happens to be the one who has caused these evil acts, then we must learn something about him." Ephraim then answered to this, "You're right, Innes. We need to find out as much as we can. However, I wonder why that name made Natasha looked so frightened?"

"I don't know," Tana came in saying. "She was crying that whole night in the women's tent. Hey, Joshua, do you know why she was so upset by that name?" "No clue," Joshua replied to her. "I… just couldn't find it in myself to ask her. Prying into a woman's past, in my opinion, is a gamble no man should ever take. I say we give her the chance to tell us when she wants to." "That sounds like the best," Ephraim answered.

At that time, Tana caught a glimpse of an object coming from the eastern horizon. She then called out to everyone, "Hey, there's something coming here. What could it be?" As the object came into view, it turned out to be Myrrh in dragon form and riding on her back was Saleh and Knoll. As they landed, Saleh and Knoll stepped off, and Myrrh transformed back to her normal form. Ephraim came up to greet them. "Myrrh, it's been a long time. How have you been? I didn't expect to see you here." "I am very happy to see you again as well, Prince Ephraim. We were originally investigating the Black Temple. We found out that… someone has been in there."

"Really," Eirika asked curiously and L'Arachel said out loud, "I knew it! I knew I saw five people go into Darkling Woods. But, what would they want in there?" Saleh then came up and said, "I don't know, but whatever it was they wanted, they got it. Princess L'arachel, your vassal, Dozla, claimed that four of them were dressed completely different from any of the knights here in Magvel, am I correct, but it turned out that they found their way to the temple very well, almost as if they had help. That would bring us to the other person with them."

"You mean that they had a guide," Innes asked and Knoll replied as he stepped forward, "That would seem like the correct choice, but we have to look at the situation a little more closely. Not even that many people here in Magvel know how to navigate that forest since it consist of lot of thick trees and near impassible mountains, so the guide would have to be a person who knows the layout very well." "That is troublesome," Ephraim remarked. "By the way, we found some objects here that might bear a familiar resemblance to all of you." Ephraim extended his left arm to show the three of them the Dark Stone he pulled out of the satchel on the saddle of the horse he was ridding.

"That's not possible," Saleh said in a shocked tone and Knoll remarked after him, "Is that… the Dark Stone?" "A Dark Stone, to be more precise," Eirika remarked. "We have more than one, five in all." Saleh then began to speak again asking, "Where did you find them?" "It happened by accident," Ephraim stated. "A wagon passed by us, and dropped them as it hit this rock embedded in the ground. We also learned that the person who's has been creating these stones and causing all of these problems is a man named Mikel. It's a possibility that he is the man Lyon warned Eirika and me about." Saleh and Knoll could only give a small 'hmm…' to what Ephraim had said. Myrrh then came back up to Ephraim and began to say, "Prince Ephraim, I too have been having nightmares of my own about this incident."

"Really," Ephraim asked concerned. "What is it that you saw?" "Uh," Myrrh replied as she found it hard to describe. "I'd rather not say. It… was just… too horrible! If I told you, I don't think you could take it that well. Neither you, nor Princess Eirika, Princess Tana, Prince Innes, Prince Joshua or Princess L'arachel. I don't think any of you would be able to handle it that well." Tana then spoke to Myrrh asking her, "But, you're dream involves the six of us?" Myrrh nodded in response, then Eirika said, "What could that mean for us? Are we somehow linked to these incidents?" "Maybe so," Innes replied. "But we can't let that keep us from moving forward. We've got to find this Mikel, and put a cork in his little scheme!" "Well put there, Innes! I couldn't have said it better myself," L'arachel remarked in an optimistic tone.

Sky and Madison came up to Saleh and Sky started to talk, "Hey, Master Saleh! Never thought that I'd see you here." "Hello, Lord Sky," Saleh spoke back to him. "It's very nice to see that you are doing well. Same goes for you, Madison." As the young Shaman heard her name, she said to her teacher, "So, Master, will you be joining with us?" "It seems I will," Saleh answered. "I can see that, getting this far, your lessons have paid off. Oh, Sky, how's your grandfather doing? I heard that Carcino was originally overrun with mercenaries." "He's doing good, now," Sky said to him. "Prince Ephraim, as well as Prince Innes and Princess Tana, helped me into saving him. Of course, I heard from my grandfather that those mercenaries were actually citizens of Carcino. Apparently, we heard a similar thing happened in Grado, with Princess Eirika and General Duessel." Saleh then replied back, "Well, it's good to see that all of you are unharmed. Right now, we need to hurry before anything else happens."

Just then, Franz saw a strange figure go inside the clock tower. "Hey," he said as the figure disappeared as the doors closed behind it. "What was that?" "I don't know," Amelia, who was next to him, answered. "Do you think it was the person who inspects the clock in the tower?" "I don't think so," Vanessa said to the both of them. "Don't you think that, from the way that person was walking, he or she was acting a little suspicious? I think we'd better inform the others on what we saw." The three of them went inform the others.

"Really," Innes said as Vanessa told him directly. "You three saw person go inside Menthor's clock tower?" Vanessa said back to him, "I know it's hard to believe, Prince Innes, but we did see someone. Do you think we should investigate?" Then, Innes spoke again, saying, "It's risky, but I think we should take that chance. No telling if it could have been a bandit, a monster, or just an ordinary person. I'll go tell the others." As Vanessa went to get ready, Innes called out to Ephraim and Eirika. "Hey there, Vanessa said that she and some of the others saw a person go inside this town's clock tower. We're about to go investigate." "Alright," responded Ephraim. "We'll come along as well, right, Eirika?" His sister answered back to him, "Yes, we will. I don't know, but it might lead us to Mikel. Hard to say, right now." After that, the whole group began to venture inside the clock tower.

As everyone got inside, the doors closed quickly behind them by an invisible force. "What was that," panicked Neimi. Simon and Gerik went over to try to open the doors, but found it impossible to do so. "No good," stated Gerik. "They're locked pretty tight!" Simon then began to say, "I know that no one wants to hear me say it, but I think we've been suckered!" Vash was shaking like a leaf while hiding behind Rizo, who began to say to Vash, "Hey, nerff! I thought you were afraid of me, narf, so why are you hiding there?" "What," Vash asked nervously. "I got my reasons. Besides, something like this happening is far scarier than being with a pirate who's crew I owe a lot of money too." Rizo laughed lightly then began to say, "Well, about that, narrf…." Before he could finish his sentence, Sky interrupted him saying, "Hey, I bet some of us could use our magic to force those doors to open. Whaddya' say, Madison? Lute, Artur, you guys up for it?" "Heh, you dare question my powers," Lute asked him with a smug look, then Saleh said to him, "Try to hold a little back if you can, Sky. We don't want to do too much damage to the clock tower." "Don't worry about it, teacher," smiled Klimt's grandson. "We'll make sure the clock tower is still standing, isn't that right, Madi?" Madison then said to Saleh in response to Sky's statement, "Don't worry, teacher, we'll be cautious."

As the four got ready to use their magic to blow away the doors, everyone heard a sound come from inside the clock tower, far above their heads. "What's that sound," Eirika asked nervously, then Artur remarked, "I don't know, but I'm sure we haven't done anything." As the noise grew louder and louder, everyone began to look around to find out what was the cause. Just then, Ephraim looked up to see a falling object. He noticed it was a large, cogwheel that had somehow been loosened from the clock's works. "Everyone, take evasive action," the young prince shouted to everyone. As everyone saw the giant cogwheel falling towards them at an increasing pace, they all scurried out of the way in order to keep themselves from getting crushed by it's great weight. Right when they got out of the way, the cogwheel landed, creating a powerful crash as it hit the ground with tremendous force. As the dust kicked up by the massive object was starting to clear, Gilliam called out to the others, "Is everyone alright?" "I think so," Colm said as he was holding onto Neimi as to protect her. "You alright yourself, Neimi?" She replied to him, "Sniff… I think so. But, who would drop a giant cogwheel on us? Sniff… waaaah!" Colm began to stroke his hands through her hair to calm her down, and gave her small kisses on her cheeks as to calm her down while calmly saying to her, "It's going to be okay, Neimi. I'm here to protect you."

As everyone else was trying to get back to their senses, L'arachel said, "Wow! Where did that come from?" "Uh, maybe the giant clock in this tower," Rennac replied in a smart-alec tone and she said back to him, "I know that, wise guy, but how did it get loosened?" "Who knows," Dozla said grimly. "But I know one thing, this was no accident." The people heard what Dozla spoke of, and Amelia responded, "Who would do such a thing?" "Isn't it obvious," asked Innes. "It's gotta be 'him!'" Ephraim went to check on Eirika, Tana and Myrrh to make sure they were okay. "Are the three of you okay," he asked them and Eirika spoke back to him, "Yeah, I seem to be in good shape." "No cuts or bruises on me either," Tana replied smiling and Myrrh finally came in to say, "Thank you, Prince Ephraim. I seem to be just fine."

As Joshua was helping Natasha up, as well as the other men helping their future better halves back up to their feet, a figure hidden in what remained of the dust cloud appeared on top of the fallen cogwheel. He slowly rose up, as if he had jumped on top of the giant gear, and said in a curt voice, "Amazing. Then again, I shouldn't be so surprised, after all, you are Ephraim, Prince of Renais and brilliant strategist for her famed knights." As the figure stood very tall, it appeared that he had his back turned and was holding a gold staff with a sapphire embedded at the top in his right hand. Natasha recognized his voice, and began to look very afraid as to what the Brigand who was spying on them said to be true. He flicked his index and middle fingers on his left hand, and created an invisible force that blew the dust away. The man then turned around to reveal his face, who turned out to be Mikel. Everyone looked at the man with great curiosity, all except for Natasha, who couldn't believe who she was seeing.

"Who are you," asked Ephraim forcibly. Mikel was just silent, but then he broke it by saying as to ignore Ephraim's question, "…Hello, Natasha. It has been far too long, hasn't it, friend?" Then, all of the others looked at Natasha as they heard him call her name. Natasha had a sad and solemn look about her, then started to speak, "So… it is true. What that man said, you were behind everything. It's all true, isn't it, Mikel!" This caused everyone to look at Mikel with surprised looks, other looked angered as those people had learned of Mikel's misdeeds. Ephraim then asked him out loud, "So, you're Mikel?" "Oh, I've been looking forward to this," Innes boldly stated. Mikel then said to him, "Well, aren't we the brave one? I, too, have been looking forward to meeting you, Prince Innes of Frelia. I also know of the others, like your cherished sister, Princess Tana. It seems we also have the beloved Princess of Renais and Prince Ephraim's twin sister, Eirika, then we have Jehanna's Prince Joshua, and whom I've also heard plans to be Natasha's husband. And, finally, we have Princess L'arachel, the 'Airhead of Rausten.'" "What did you say," L'arachel belted out with great irritation. Rennac was behind her snickering as he found what Mikel said about her to be absolutely hilarious. Dozla saw Rennac laughing, and just gave a slight glare.

L'arachel started to say to Mikel again, "What nerve do you have to call me an 'Airhead?'" "Even if I explained," Mikel replied. "I doubt you'd take it any easier. Besides, what girl in their right mind would come up with such a half-baked title like 'The Beautiful Princess of Peerless Beauty?' Honestly…." Innes was starting to get fed up with hearing Mikel talk and he shot an arrow his way. Mikel saw the arrow about to hit him, then he whipped his staff out in front of it, while it surrounded by energy. In a flash of light, the arrow was deflected. Everyone then saw that Mikel's staff turned into the scythe that most of them saw back in the plains area of Renais. In another flash of light, the scythe turned back into his original staff.

"I'll get him," Colm said out loud. "I'm about to pay that glass-eyed jerk back for trying to hurt Neimi." As Colm was running, he jumped out at Mikel as to do a Silencer on him, but then Mikel retaliated by shooting a wave of dark energy from his left hand. Colm was hit by it, then Mikel swung him into the far wall on his right. "Colm," Neimi yelled out as she ran over to him immediately. Colm crashed on the ground, his body smoking from the dark energy he was struck by. As Neimi was tending to Colm, Mikel jumped very high into the air, did a somersault, and landed a few feet in front of the cogwheel. As Mikel stood up to face the group, Ephraim went to him and said, "The man we interrogated said you were a type of scientist. What kind of scientist brings monsters into this world, forms rebellions in our nations like Carcino and Grado, and creates Dark Stones?"

"Simple," Mikel replied. "I'm an Alchemist." Almost everyone was surprised by what they heard him say, the L'arachel began to say to him, "That's impossible! Alchemy has been forbidden for more than a millennium. If you're doing Alchemy, that's a crime!" "How typical of people like you," Mikel sighed. "Once you become afraid of something because it may be dangerous, and you're not willing to take the risk to explore the many possibilities, you immediately put a 'forbidden' label on it, and say that doing it is a criminal act. How sad, how truly sad, indeed, that people in this time choose to remain in their sweet bliss of ignorance, I'm just absolutely baffled." Natasha started to speak to Mikel again, "Why, Mikel? Why are you doing all of this? You were such a good person, but… killing innocent people, attacking the future rulers of this continent, forming rebellions, and creating monsters? Have you gone mad?"

"I think we've talked long enough," Mikel said quickly. "I'm sorry, Natasha, but I'm not the same Mikel you used to know. It's time to end this, but first…." Mikel looked at Myrrh, then he held out his left hand. Myrrh then felt something in her dress moving. Before she knew it, her Dragonstone flew out and immediately went into Mikel's hand. As Myrrh saw him squeezing it she said, "No! Please don't!" With enough pressure, the Dragonstone shattered in his hand, becoming nothing but dust as the small pieces fell to the ground. This devastated Myrrh greatly. Mikel started to laugh, but he received a lot of angry looks. "Did you think I was going let you get out of this so easily," Mikel said as he continued to laugh with an insane look and his eyes got so big as to look bloodshot. "I don't exactly fear the powers of a Manakete as I have fought a few myself, but I'm not going to let you all get the best of my forces so effortlessly!"

Myrrh started to cry as she saw her destroyed Dragonstone, and Saleh went to put his hand on her shoulder. "Now," Mikel continued to talk. "I think it's time we got started." He then floated upward while surrounded by an aura of darkness. He immediately flew toward a wooden beam, and landed firmly on top of it. He raised his staff above his head, and said with a booming voice, "Come forth, my servants! Your master commands this of you!" In a flash of light, monsters started to teleport all over the inside of the clock tower. Lizardmen, Lizard Archers, Minotaurs, Wolfmen, Harpies, Slimes, Ghost Knights and even a couple of Manticores. There were even new types of monsters, creatures that appeared to be part eagle and part lion, which were referred to as Griffons in old folk tales, and Giant Sankes. In the far back was another creature the group hadn't seen, it looked like a man, but it was completely white, had no face, hair, ears or even finger and toenails. It didn't wear clothes, but had no other anatomical features, other than the arms, legs, head, fingers and toes. "I hope you all fare well against my forces, especially my Homunculus," Mikel said to the heroes, in which he was obviously referring to the strange, white creature.

Saleh quickly said to Myrrh, "Lady Myrrh, you have to hide. You're defenseless without your Dragonstone. Don't worry, we'll handle it from here." Myrrh did exactly that. After she was hidden from the enemies, the two forces began to make their advance on each other, but were forced to move slowly due to the tight space between the walls between them. As the heroes began to move out, they were lead by Amelia, Kyle, Gilliam and Duessel followed by Forde, Franz, Neimi, Dozla, Clark, Gerik and Ross. After them came Simon, Rizo, Marisa, Joshua, Tana, Vanessa, Jules and Colm. Ephraim and Eirika followed behind them while Tethys, Rennac, Innes, Vash and the magic/staff wielders covered everyone from the rearguard.

As Ephraim and Eirika's forces started to move, the Minotaurs, Wolfmen, Lizardmen and Lizard Archers began to advance forward to fight against the heroes. The advance guard took some damage from the fights, but they held them off, especially so they could protect their three flyers from getting hurt from the Lizard Archers' arrows. As the twins' army kept going, the packs of Slimes and Giant Snakes were beginning to move. As the heroes met with the creatures, they began to fight them. The heavily armored units dealt with the snakes while the faster units went to kill off the Slimes. A Giant Snake was attacking both Tana and Vanessa. It made a lunge for Tana first. She dodged the attack with the help of her swift Pegasus, Acheus. Afterwards, Vanessa, who was on Titania, appeared next to the snake. It saw her, and then made an attempt to bite them. Vanessa got out of the way and flew next to Tana. The two Falconknights nodded to each other, then brandished their swords and made a stab for the snake's throat, making it fall down dead.

After the fighting, a slew of Ghost Knights appeared at the staircases near the doors of the clock tower. Gerik, Simon and Rizo decided to go back to deal with those particular forcers. The Ghost Knights began to approach the three, as well. As they saw them, Gerik asked Simon, "Okay, buddy, you fought these beings alongside Prince Ephraim, so how do we do them in?" "Simple," Simon replied. "You two see that green, glowing ball in the middle of their chests? That's called ectoplasm. Madison was the one who told us about it. She said that it acts as the agent that allows them to roam the physical land. If we destroy it, the ghost will vanish from our world." Rizo then said, "Alright, I didn't understand most of what said there, narf, but it's always worth a try at least." The three of them got their axes ready, and went to assault the ethereal knights. As Gerik and Rizo did what Simon said, the Ghost Knights quickly disappeared after their ectoplasm were shattered. "Well, what do you know," said Gerik in surprise and Rizo started to say after him, "If that don't beat all, narf, it actually worked!"

After Simon took out the remaining stragglers, the Hero Crest he took with him was glowing. He took into his hand and said, "Oh yeah, let's do this!" Focusing all of his concentration into the object, bright light started to surround him. As the light exploded, then faded, Simon's outfit changed. The old, ragged shirt he originally wore became a fur-collar vest, his boots also had fur on them, and he wore a horned-helm. Simon was now a Warrior. "Hey, not bad there, Simon," Gerik said with a smile and Simon replied, "Now, I'm ready for some real combat. Bring it on!" "Well, if we're done here, nnerf," Rizo began to say. "Let's go back and assist the others." Gerik and Simon nodded in agreement with Rizo, and started to make a return trip.

Meanwhile, the others were dealing with a flock of Harpies. Innes, Vash, Neimi and Ross were all firing arrows to take them down, but were proving to be much quicker than before. Sky, Artur, Lute, Saleh and Knoll were backing them up with Wind Magic attacks, which really helped in knocking a few bird-women out of the sky. The Griffons proved to be more problematic due to their swift movements and sharp talons. Ephraim took a swipe across his back while trying to protect both Eirika and Tana from its strike. As he winced with pain, Eirika said, "Oh no, brother," and Tana said after her, "Ephraim! Are you going to be okay?" "Yeah," Ephraim replied while still aching from the attack. "No problem." The same Griffon that attacked Ephraim came back for another shot. Just before it could get it in, an arrow hit it square in the neck, causing it to collapse and die. They looked to see it was Simon who fired it. They also saw Gerik and Rizo with him. "Thanks," Eirika said to him and he replied, "Hey, I'm just doing what I was assigned to do. Besides, attacking a wounded soldier from behind the back is pretty dishonorable, even for a mercenary like myself."

As more Griffons started to make their moves, one flapped its wings so hard that it threw some feathers, which somehow hardened and were as sharp as knives, upon immediate observation after they hit the ground. One of them hit Sky in the left calf as he was trying to get Madison out of the volley of feathers. Madison said to him, "Sky, you shouldn't have done that." "Hey, I'd think you'd do the same for me," he remarked back to her. "Besides, you're alright, aren't you? So, what are you complaining about?" As he did his best to stand-up, he looked straight at the Griffons and said, "Think all of you have seen everything about me? Well, here something coming your way!" Sky crossed his arms together in front of his face. As he did, the wind started to pick up, and was blowing fiercely. In an instant, Sky flung his arms out in front of him and said out loud, "ELWIND!" The Griffons were all caught in a fierce windstorm. The creatures felt the powerful gusts cutting open areas in their skin, and it was becoming ever increasingly painful for them. With so many cuts, the very air they were breathing was being sucked out their bodies, causing them to die from suffocation. The Griffons fell to the ground, and Sky almost collapsed from the strain of using his magic so fiercely.

Eventually, the Guiding Ring that he had with him had emitted a glow. As he inspected it, he turned to Saleh and asked, "Master, does this mean that I'm ready?" "It appears to be so," he replied back to Sky. In that moment, Sky concentrated his spirit into the ring. As with Simon using the Hero Crest, Sky got enveloped in light. Once the light cleared up, Sky found himself on top of a magnificent horse colored sorrel, his robes were newer and much more befitting of him being a lord and he felt power that was greater than he had imagined. Sky became a Mage Knight. "Unbelievable! Hey, Master Saleh! Madison! Do you two see this?" "Amazing, Sky," exclaimed Madison and Saleh said to him, "Great job, there! I see your lessons have paid off handsomely." "Heh, heh," Sky chuckled to himself. "Just you wait, Ewan. I'll show you what a true magic-user is like."

While the fights were still going on, Rennac decided to use that time to pilfer some treasures. He stole a Red Gem from a Harpy and a Secret Book from a Slime. He also found two chests along the way. One contained a Lancereaver while the other had an Ocean Seal. The heroes were now ready to cleanup what was left of the enemy forces. Forde, Franz and Ross slew the last few Ghost Knights while Innes, Vash and Lute brought down a reinforcement of three Harpies, and L'arachel and Sky used their combined magic to handle the Wolfmen. As the group progressed to where the Homunculus was, they had to take down the two Manticores. They both tried to impale the twins' forces with the sharp points of their tails. Jules immediately took out his axe and chopped off the tail of one of them while Natasha, Artur, Moulder and Madison combined their power to unleash a devastating spell to kill it.

For the other Manticore, Sky used his new sword to stab its front-right leg while Gilliam, Kyle and Duessel used their lances to take out the other legs. Gerik used his mighty sword to chop its tail off, and Dozla delivered the final blow by chopping off its head. Soon, they were all face to face with the Homunculus. The creature, despite not having mouth, gave out a roar. Dozla went to attack it first, but it was thwarted when the Homunculus stretched out its left arm, grabbed Dozla by the throat and flung him across the room. As he hit the wall behind him with great enough force that it shattered, L'arachel called out to him. "Dozla," she yelled out and he painfully answered, "Don't worry, princess. This is nothing."

As the Homunculus gave another roar, Ross went to attack him. The white creature avoided his axe strike easily then retaliated with a powerful backslap in which its right hand grew rather large, then immediately went back to its normal shape. After Ross got knocked down, Amelia immediately armed herself with a Killing Edge and chopped off its arm. "Gotcha," she said confidently, but then, the severed arm began to move and then reattached itself to the Homunculus. Amelia then said, "That's not fair!" The Homunculus roared again, then it stretched its arm out to punch Amelia. The little General braced herself, but was still thrown back by the force of the attack. Joshua, Marisa, Colm and Clark all tried to use their speedy attacks to inflict damage, but were all avoided. The Homunculus then threw them all back with a single strike. All of the magic wielders and bowmen tired their best to slow down the Homunculus with their attacks, but it proved to be too agile.

Just then, Ephraim noticed the middle of its chest glowing a dark purple and whispered to Eirika, "Eirika, I think I know where we need to hit him to finish him off." As he pointed the spot to her, she replied, "Got it." The twins made a rush for the Homunculus as they were going to try to take it down. It saw them then stretched out both of it arms, grabbing Eirika with its enlarged left hand, and Ephraim with its right. The Homunculus lifted them high into the air. Just as it was about to reel them in, Ephraim yelled, "Eirika, now!" They both readied their weapons, and then as they both got very close, they stabbed the Homunculus in the glowing spot. The creature of white was grunting in pain. Its hands opened, releasing the twins, then it stumbled backwards. The Homunculus was surrounded by an aura of darkness, and then exploded into purple dust, similarly happening to the other monsters, except the Ghost Knights.

After the fighting, Myrrh came out of hiding and asked, "Is it over?" "Yes, it's over, Myrrh," answered Ephraim. Just then, they heard the sound of someone clapping. It turned out to be Mikel who was now sitting on top of the wooden beam. "Now that was quite entertaining," he said with an almost pleased smile. Ephraim got angry and yelled at him saying, "You… you think that this is a game, and that we're part of your personal clown troupe!" After saying that, Ephraim threw a Javelin in hoping to impale him, but Mikel held up his left arm and opened his hand, stopping the weapon it its track right before it could even hit him. Afterwards, it disintegrated into nothing. Everyone was shocked by what he did, then Mikel said, "Please, Prince Ephraim, try not to be so predictable. You are merely controlled by your own emotions. Once they take over, it becomes so easy to read your moves."

Innes then started to say to the demented Alchemist, "You know, I'd think you'd be a little ticked at us for destroying your forces, especially that Homunculus." Mikel started to chuckle that grew to be complete laughter, then responded, "Why would I be upset, just because you all destroyed one of my Homunculi?" As the group heard that, the upper walls of the clock tower were broken away, revealing tons of Homunculi. "Oh, good God," Jules said out loud. "That one we fought was tough enough, but this is madness." All of the Homunculi roared in unison, then began to dive after an Ephraim and Eirika's forces. Ephraim then shouted to the others, "RUN!" They all began a tactical retreat to the doors of the clock tower, which were still closed. "Time to kiss those doors good-bye," Sky said as he, Lute, Artur, Knoll, Madison, Saleh and L'Arachel used their magic to blow away the door.

As everyone made it outside, all of the magic-wielders used their powers to hold the enemies back, but the Homunculi's violent nature caused the clock tower to collapse in on itself, piece by piece, until it was just a pile of rubble. "Mikel," yelled Natasha as she thought he died in the collapse. After that, a purple glow came from the sky. As they looked up, they saw the glow was coming from Mikel. He had somehow escaped, and was hovering in the air. Suddenly, all of the Homunculi got themselves free from the rubble. When thhe town's people saw them, they screamed and ran as one man said in great fear, "Monsters! Aggggghhhh!" Mikel smiled smugly and said, "I could kill everyone in this town if I wanted, but I think I shall let them and you live for today. I will be leading an attack on Rausten very soon. I would suggest you make it there to avert any other tragedies. I hope to see you all there very soon. Farewell, Natasha." As Mikel began to float away, the Homunculi were magically lifted into the air, then all of them, along with Mikel, teleported away. Natasha fell to her knees, and started to cry while saying, "Why, Mikel? Why is this happening? Why are you doing this? For what reason? Please, Joshua, tell me that this all a bad dream." "I wish I could," Joshua said to her. "I really wish I could." Ephraim starred long and angrily at the sky and said, "Mikel, I'm going to defeat you! Mark my words!"

To Be Concluded in Chapter 15


	16. Chapter 15: The Legend of Alchemy

**Chapter 15: The Legend of Alchemy**

As the Twins of Renais and their men settled in the town of Menthor, it was there that they had encountered, in the town's clock tower, the instigator of this war and the person solely responsible for all of tragedies that have occurred in Magvel, Mikel. Ephraim and Eirika also learned that he happens to be an old acquaintance of the Grado priestess, Natasha, and an Alchemist. The twins were able to win the fight against his forces, but an ambush of his creations known as "Homunculi" left the clock tower in ruins. Natasha still finds it hard to tell the others anything about this man that not even her betrothed, Prince Joshua of Jehanna can say anything to her to get his future wife to talk.

It was morning time in Menthor once again. Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika were talking with the mayor of Menthor. "Listen, Mr. Mayor, we're very sorry about what happened to your clock tower. We knew how much it meant to your town, right brother?" Eirika started off saying and Ephraim began to say after her, "We'd be happy to pay any amount of gold to have it fixed for you. Again, we apologize dearly." "Oh, it's not your fault," The mayor replied. "This is how wars are, right? Once a place gets caught up in it, things like this will occur. Let's just count our blessings that there were no human casualties." "Still," spoke Ephraim again. "We didn't mean for it to escalate to this town. It just… happened." Eirika then said again, "It was all because of that man, Mikel. After he locked us in there, we couldn't risk our escape. Doing so might have let those creatures out, and it would have been a complete disaster. Only then did we find out that he had set up an ambush for us. One in which we couldn't fight our way out of, even if we tried. It's a good thing he and those beings he called 'Homunculi' decided to leave when they did." "Mikel," Ephraim said with a look of seriousness. "He said he was going to lead an assault on Rausten, yet he urged us to come. I don't know if he's trying to kill us, or toy with us."

After a bit of silence, the mayor spoke up again, and said, "Listen, the town's people and I gathered a small investment of gold for your troupe in hope that you gain enough supplies for them in the future. It's not much, but please take it anyway." "No," Eirika said as the mayor tried to hand her the bag of 7, 000 gold. "This is too much. Your town needs this money." "My sister's right," replied Ephraim. "It will take rather long before you can get the clock tower rebuilt." The mayor responded to this, "Don't worry about us. This is Menthor, the largest city in Renais, afterall. We have just about every kind of store imaginable that sells materials to rebuild anything, and the men and women have all pitched in to help with the reconstruction. Prince Ephraim, Princess Eirika, take this gold not as a loan, but as help for your cause and our hope that you will and can restore this great continent back to it's former self. After all, the reconstruction of Magvel isn't complete yet, but I'm sure that you two and your allies have the strength and will to do so, and to defeat that horrible person." "Now, that we can do," Ephraim said smiling and Eirika said after him smiling as well, "Thank you for this generous offer. We promise to put it to good use." The mayor then said as they took the twins took the small sack of money, "You are all welcome here anytime you like. Until then, good luck to all of you, and Godspeed."

As the two were done talking with the mayor, they went back to join with the others, where they approached both Kyle and Forde. "Are you done with everything here, your majesties," Kyle asked and Eirika replied, "I imagine so. Is there anything else that we need to do, brother?" Ephraim thought about it for a moment and responded, "No, we should have everything prepared. Okay, we're about to move out. I trust everyone is present and counted for." Forde then said to him, "Sure looks like it. Alright, let's move!" "Wait," Artur said as he came forward, and Eirika asked, "What's wrong, Artur?" The young apostle answered to her, "I don't see Lute among us. We can't leave without her." Ephraim then said, "Alright, we'll split and have about four teams search for her." "Oh, don't worry," Artur replied. "I have a rather good idea of where she went. I'll go find her myself." Eirika replied, "Are you sure?" "Positive," he replied. Then Ephraim stated, "Alright, Artur, you can go find her, but don't take too long. We don't know if Mikel will plan another attack on us, so you'd better hurry." And, with a nod, Artur went to find Lute before the company began its march.

Meanwhile, in Menthor's local library, Lute was at the top of a tall, rolling ladder while looking at the various books on the shelves. "Nope it's not there," she said as she looked through the row of books, reading what it said on their spines. Lute then looked through another row of books on her left and said, "Uh, it's not there, either! Where is it?" Just then, Artur walked through the library doors. He called out in a quiet tone, "Lute, where are you? Lute?" Lute heard Artur and replied, "Oh, hi there, Artur. I'm just looking for a particular book. One that talks about different philosophies and practices." "Oh, Lute," Artur said with a sigh. "Our caravan is about to move out, and you're busy quenching your thirst for knowledge, despite the pledge that the both us made to Princess Eirika? Why are looking for such a book, anyway?"

"Well," Lute started off to say. "That man, Mikel, claims he knows how to use Alchemy, so I thought I wound try to find the book to help the others to understand it a little better, of course, I have a feeling that Princess L'Arachel knows a little about it herself, but not even she knows everything, unlike myself." Artur scratched his head and responded, "But, Lute, I think you've read a similar book if you know which one you're looking for, so you must have memorized it verbatim." "Of course, I have," Lute said while smugly smiling. "It's just that this certain situation calls for a…, how shall I say it…, visual aid." As Lute continued to look through the various books on the shelves in attempt to find the one she was looking for, she got discouraged, and said with a mope, "Nothing, Zip, Nadda! It's not even around here!" After she climbed down the ladder, she walked a little closer towards Artur's direction and said while pondering to herself, and came to a conclusion as she said, "This must mean that the book can only be in only one other area of this library; the Restricted Section."

Artur began to panic, and said while doing so, "NO! NO! NO! We can't go in there! That would be breaking the rules!" "There's no one here. Even the librarian left to help with the reconstruction of the town's clock tower, so we can find the key to the door. Who knows…." Lute said then paused as she went over and started to rub Artur's chest with her left hand while looking at him with a sexy, predatory look in her eyes. "We could probably even make out in here. What do you say about that?" Artur's cheeks quickly became flushed. Immediately, he turned around and said while tapping the ends of his two, index fingers together, "I… I'm just saying, tha… tha… that if wuh… w… we were to get caught going into the Restricted Section, we'd be in big trouble." Lute sighed and said back to him, "Look, we're helping the others in trying to fight a megalomaniac who just happens to be this super alchemist, so they're going to need all the help they can get, right?" Artur replied, "I guess so…" "There's our alibi. So, let's quit this doddering, find the key to the Restricted Section, get that book, and meet up with the others, okay," Lute responded with a smile. "Now where's that key?" As Lute went to look for the key, Artur sighed to himself, and said, "Ahhh… a woman's words winning out over a man's…. I guess that's just how the world is supposed to work, right? Sigh…."

After Lute found the book she wanted and put the key back where she found it, the two Sages left the library, and immediately retuned to Ephraim, Eirika, and the rest of the troops. "Glad to see you two made it back," Ephraim said to the two of them and Eirika came forward to ask. "What were you doing anyway, Lute?" "I was at the library. I had to pick up this book. Hearing from what our friend in the white and green robe said, we'll need to know much about on what he practices in order to understand how to be ready for his next move." "Where did you find that book," Knoll asked her as he was surprised by what he heard and she answered, "Oh, the Restricted Section." "Lute," Artur replied nervously. Most of the men and women were shocked by where Lute claimed to have went. "You went into a library's Restricted Section just to pick up a book," asked Innes with a troubled appearance and L'arachel said after him, "You two could have got yourselves into trouble for doing that, not to mention us." "Look here," Lute began to state to the others. "What would you have me rather do, ignore the book like a good little girl and have us flying blind in there, or take the book without the librarian knowing and help you guys in trying to save the world… again?"

Everyone pondered this thought for a moment and Tana said, "You know, she's got a point." "That's right, sis," Innes replied back to her. "Put all of your trust into little 'Miss Know-it-all' here, despite the fact that we could be the ones to end up with egg on our faces." Just then, Joshua appeared as he responded, "I say we give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, you know?" "But, c'mon, Joshua, what about your fiancé," Innes asked the Swordmaster and prince. "I believe Natasha knew that Mikel guy. We could use her to get some information on him." Joshua replied to that, "Yeah, except the problem is she won't talk. Besides, similar to what I said yesterday, prying into a woman's life is a gamble I never take! Hope you can remember that, Innes, since you like to act high-cultural yourself." "Hrmph…," Innes snorted as he turned his head away from Joshua then Ephraim stated, "I agree in that we let Lute tell us what we need to know since she is the most informed of us." "Why, thank you," Lute said back to him and Eirika began to say herself, "I feel the same way. Whatever she has read, she can most definitely help us." L'Arachel then started to speak again as she said, "I want to know as much as I can learn to defeat that Mikel, especially since he called me an 'Airhead.'" The Rausten Princess got so mad that her face turned red and flames appeared in her eyes.

"Uh-oh," yelled Rennac as he was standing next to Vash, Colm, Ross and Sky, and turned his head away from L'arachel's direction towards them while continuing to speak, "I think her head's taken in too much hot air, that it's about to pop!" This caused the other four to laugh as Rennac did. L'arachel turned her angered expression towards Rennac and the others, but then she put on a smile and said, "Fine, but don't forget who pays you for your work." Dozla just glared at Rennac. The others heard L'arachel say what she did and stopped laughing. Colm told Rennac, "I think you'd better be careful. Don't want your pay to get docked." Rennac said with a smirk, "Heh, everybody's a critic."

As everyone was done socializing, they set off in order to reach Rausten before Mikel could attack it. After a good while of riding and trekking through the great eastern valley of Renais, the caravan decided to setup camp. Once the tents were all pitched and the steeds resting near the closest tree, everyone began to loosen themselves up a bit. Rennac was resting himself on a tree branch while touching the leaves on the branch right above him. Dozla then appeared from the Rogue's left-hand side and said to him with a serious look, "Hey, Rennac, we need to talk." "Hi, old man," Rennac replied while tired of having to hear Dozla's voice. "There, we talked, now go away." Dozla growled a little bit then said, "I'm very serious here, Rennac. It's about your attitude back in Menthor." "And, what about it," answered a very disturbed Rennac.

"It comes to my attention that…" Dozla paused his sentence, then started to speak again, "…you don't really like Princess L'arachel, do you?"

Rennac rolled his eyes and said with sarcasm, "Wow, and it only took you that long to realize that I didn't? I'm very impressed." "Listen, the first time you snickered at that joke that Mikel made yesterday, I was willing to let it slide, but today, that was a very nasty thing you did, having to play even more into it," Dozla exclaimed. "Remember, you're now a vassal to Princess L'arachel, and for that, you have a duty to uphold, am I clear?"

"That's just it," Rennac quickly responded. He hopped off of the branch he lying down upon, landing on his feet, and continued to talk, "There's a big difference between the two of us, okay? You… are a sycophantic bungler who would willingly answer to L'Arachel's beck and call. To make further proof of this, if that clock tower were still standing, she'd tell you to climb up to the top and jump off it, and you'd do it without hesitation. I, on the other hand, am the son of a wealthy merchant from Carcino who was hopelessly forced into this backbreaking, manual labor that I wanted to have nothing to do with, and being forced to escort that… that… woman who claims to be a princess whom, for the most part, is assertive, self-centered, can't keep her mouth shut for one second—kind of like you, egotistical, uppity, superior-acting and, overall, bossy! If there's only one person that I would want to be my boss, it's me. Got it, me, myself and I only, yet I'm working this HELLHOLE of a job I originally took last year, because I heard I would get nicely paid for it from Rausten's own Pontifex Mansel, yet I've been paid absolutely diddly-squat! I was expecting to be handed large sums of money, yet I'm getting this small amount that could only be considered 'lunch money' by a few people. And, at whose demand was this made? Why, her's, of course! You see why I made that joke the way I did? Now, leave me alone to drown in my despair."

As Rennac began to walk back to the campsite, Dozla began to say to him again, "Money may be all nice, but it can eventually lead to greed, which can destroy you." "Hrmph, that's easy for you to say," Rennac replied smirking. "Being a person who was raised most of his life as a penniless mountain bandit." Dozla then continued, "Maybe you should give it a try yourself, then you'd understand that you have it much better with what you're doing. So, are you going to leave us?" "Nope," Rennac answered. "Like you said, I have a duty to uphold. And, eventhough, I'll do it, it doesn't mean that I have to enjoy being around her or you, comprende?"

As the whole company got rested enough, Lute, Artur and Richard came into the main tent where Ephraim, Eirika, Forde, Kyle, Gilliam, Duessel, Innes, Tana, Vanessa, L'Arachel, Joshua and Gerik were all discussing on what Mikel's next move would be and what path to take to get to Rausten. "I'd say the best path that would get us to Rausten would be to go through Caer Pelyn. Since Jehanna's garrison is down, it might be more prone to attacks now, and we don't need to be delayed anymore, though I expect we will be. After that, we can slip on into eastern Jehanna, and we should be able to enter Rausten easily." "That sounds like a good suggestion," Innes replied. "But, there's no guarantee that we'll be out of harm's way if we take this path." Eirika then asked in response to Ephraim's plan, "Why don't we all go to Carcino and take a boat from there to get to Rausten?"

"That would be too obvious," Ephraim answered. "Mikel may be a lunatic, but he does seem to have everything planned out. Besides, ever since this attack, all trade routes have been cut off. That means it's nigh impossible for any ships to come in or go out." "How did he do that," asked Duessel and Ephraim responded, "No telling how, but it was a very smart move. It might have something to do with those knights that we fought in Jehanna Hall." "So," Gerik started off to say. "Even if we wanted to borrow a boat, there's no way we could. Seems like our friend really does have everything figured out." L'arachel began to speak as she said, "You know, it's funny, I tried to get a boat back in Rausten when I went to Melkaen Coast, but I had absolutely no luck. They said that all of their boats were busy. Kind of figured that when Dozla, Rennac and I didn't see any there." "Busy," asked Tana. "What were they doing with them?"

L'arachel spoke again, "I'm… not sure, but when we were about to leave, when saw a ship pull up to the port. As it did, I saw some loading some boxes onto it. What it was they were actually loading, I can't say." "Do think it has something to do with that wagon that dropped those Dark Stones, do you?" L'arachel said again, "Possibly, but like I said—I can't say." "Well, this is all very interesting," Lute belted out as she interrupted the meeting. "But, I think it's time we got down to business. I didn't get this book for my personal means, though I normally I would, I got it in order to discuss Alchemy and on how to know it better." "You mean right now," asked Forde in a complainitive tone and Lute answered to the lazy Paladin.

"Yes, now! I think it would be wise to know how Mikel is using Alchemy, so we can understand how to deal with him better. So, no more complaining from anyone. Let's try to get everyone in here as they all need to here this." "Well," Joshua began to state. "Natasha says she wants to be alone for awhile, so I think we should let her have some time by herself, if that's okay." "I agree that we should give her some space. She's had it rough as it is," Gerik remarked reassuringly and Lute replied to this, "Hmm… okay, I guess I can exclude her." Joshua nodded a thank you to what Lute said, then Richard came up to say, "I can tell that there is a lot bothering her. I wonder, what Natasha is thinking right now? There could be the chance that her problems at this time could be a lot deeper than what most of us think we know." "You can sense that," L'arachel asked in astoundment and Richard answered to this with a smirk, "When you put yourself in my shoes, you come to learn that being blind isn't necessarily a handicap." Innes said in response to this, "Maybe, but, aside from your…condition, you seem a little to gentle to be in this outfit. What made you join with Eirika, anyway?"

"Good question," Richard answered. "It's true that war is a nasty thing and that almost nothing good can come out of it. However, when I met with Eirika after her and Artur rescued Lute and myself, I began to feel her heart. When I did, I heard a calling that told me that I needed to go with her and help with this ordeal. Yes, Princess Eirika, I felt such kindness coming from you, yet I could also feel that something troubles you just like Natasha. This person you long to be with again… his name wouldn't be happen to be named… Seth, would it?" "Wha… what did you say," asked Eirika with great surprise. "I've only mentioned him to a few people. How do you know?"

Richard just smiled and said, "That's the gift that comes with my disability." After everyone in the tent at the time was done conversing, the others, except Natasha joined in to hear what Lute was about to read to them on the practice of Alchemy. "Okay, here we are," Lute said as she found the chapter she was looking for. "Alchemy, the ancient science of understanding and rearranging matter, the original practice of Alchemy was turning lead into gold, as a means of finding a solution to the money shortage problem at that time, It wasn't until many years later that humanity found many other uses for it, such as agriculture, medicine, metal forging and other various jobs. However, in the end, people who practiced Alchemy were overcome with desires of wealth, power and, above all, never-ending life."

Vash slowly raised his hand and Lute asked him a she saw it, "Yes, Vash?" He then began to say, "Um, this isn't going to be on any test, is it? Because, if not, I don't really see the reason that we should learn any of this. I don't see it really helping us in the future, and, even if it does, this whole discussion is gonna' make my head hurt." Suddenly, a goblet came and hit Vash on the head, leaving a big lump on the impact point, then Lute, who had her hand up as to be the one who threw the goblet, said, "Fun science fact; blunt objects thrown at your head with great force can also make it hurt. Now, pay attention, because I'm getting to the most important part." Tethys, Amelia, Neimi and Madison giggled at what happened to Vash, and he said in a mouthing tone, "Sure, it's all fun and games until someone gets a concussion."

Lute continued to read some more, "In order to make sure that Alchemy was not misused, Alchemist clans were formed, each one using their knowledge of Alchemy for the greater good. These clans were all watched over by a group of very wise people known as the Elders. Each member of a clan was marked with a particular drawing to designate which clan they belonged to. Here are the various drawings for the various alchemist clans." Lute turned the book around to show those around her the pictures of the drawings. She then started to point to each one, and told them of the job the alchemist clan of that drawing did. "This first one here belonged to the Clan of Nature, whose specialty was agriculture. This next one belonged to the Clan of Metal, who mostly used their power for forgery." She kept going through the other clan drawings until she came down to the last one, which looked liked like it was made of various squiggling line coming out from the center of two circles, in which there was a single eye set vertically.

"Now, this last one belongs to a rather infamous group of Alchemists. They were known as the Clan of Truth. Their abilities allowed them to understand the path between reality and the unseen. The alchemists of this clan were considered to be very powerful. They possessed the ability to see into the very psyche of the human mind," said Lute. "You mean like Richard," asked Eirika and Lute responded "No offense to Richard, but his ability to look into another person's heart is nothing compared to what these guys could do. Not only could they look into a person's mind, but they could even alter the mind, erasing a person's deepest fears or building them up."

"The Darkness of the Mind," Knoll came in saying. Ephraim asked him looking confused, "What did you say?" Knoll continued to talk saying, "The Darkness of the Mind. It is said that everything was born from nothingness, and, eventually when we die, it is where we return. Yet, in the sub-consciousness of our minds is a piece of the darkness. It is the same darkness that humans fear but can shake off." "And, how do you know that," asked Lute with a kind of jealous look, and Knoll answered her, "It's what we Dark Mages study. You see there are three kinds of magic, because there are three different fields of understanding where magic stems from. Anima magic comes from ones understanding of the physical world. Light magic is understood from a person understanding on the strength of their spirit and heart. Dark magic comes from one's understanding of the nothingness. We draw our power from the world beyond this world, or, for a more blatant term, the world that never was." This only served to confuse the twins and Lute; as well most of everyone else, except for Saleh and Madison for they knew most of what Knoll was talking about.

Looking at those who were looking at him as to having a million questions, Knoll then said, "I guess you want me to explain what that is. Very well then, the world that never was is pure nothingness. It's a world that exist, yet it doesn't. If one could gain control over it, they could use that power to create or reshape anything to their own inner desire. They could have complete control over any and all things. Because it's comprised of nothing, you could create anything you wanted to anything you wish." "So, if this "world that never was" is so amazing," Gerik began to ask Knoll. "Why haven't you been able to gain control over it? You did say that Dark Magic originates from there, right?" The knowledgeable Druid went silent then said, "There's been a piece of the puzzle missing for quite some time. We've known the only way to gain access to it was through the Darkness of the Mind, for it act like portal to the nothingness though our minds." Tana then asked him, "How's that?"

Knoll thought about it for a moment then immediately spoke again, "Ah, here's an example! When you are asleep, what do you do during that time?" "Well, I definitely know what some of us do before we go to sleep," Innes said has he looked at Vanessa with a seductive smile, which caused her to blush and reply saying, "P… Pr… Prince Innes…." Then, Kyle said to Knoll, "I know some of us tend to snore when we're asleep and not know about it." "Very loudly," Ross backed him up as those two and both Forde and Clark looked at Vash with rather displeased looks. "Oh, come on, you guys," Vash whined. "You're not going to keep holding that against me, are you?" Clark replied, "Depends on whether on we can get enough sleep or not." "And so far, we haven't been that lucky," Forde responded after him. Vash could only sigh.

As everyone kept thinking about it, Amelia immediately answered, "Oh, I know! We dream." "Yeah, that's it," exclaimed Franz as he agreed with her, then Duessel said to Knoll, "Hey, Knoll, did they get it right?" "Yes," Knoll replied. "When we fall asleep, our sub-consciousness enters the nothingness. There, it creates a world in our minds that we interact with in our thoughts. Yet, when we awake, it's gone. The reason being is because only our sub-conscious mind was there, not really us fully. That's the reason that some refer to our sub-consciousness as the Darkness of the Mind."

Knoll's speech still continued to confuse most of everyone, he continued to talk, "Prince Lyon and I did mountains of research on the Darkness of the Mind, but to no avail, we were always unsuccessful. Lyon tried to understand everything about the Darkness of the Mind in attempts to completely revive the dead. In the end, he never could get his experiments to work, so the only other alternative was to use the Dark Stone to create dummies that had limited emotion, almost completely mindless, and capable of being controlled like puppets. I believe you saw with your eyes at some of his work like Emperor Vigarde and Orson's wife, Monica. Both were results of Prince Lyon and I being unable to learn all we could about the Darkness of the Mind. However, it seems that clan of alchemists were the only ones who seemed to know anything about it, but I'm guessing that even they couldn't breach the wall between this world and the world that never was."

"Do you suspect that Mikel has cracked the riddle of the Darkness of the Mind," Eirika asked. Knoll replied to this saying, "That would be impossible! From what both Prince Lyon and I learned, proper research on something like that would take thousands of years, alchemist or not. And even then, there's no telling if it would be completely accurate." "But, he knows Alchemy," Lute asked. "Don't think that's strange enough? Alchemy has been banned for more than 2,000 years, yet for some reason, he knows how to perform feats of it." Ephraim then said, "That's one thing that's bothering me, what caused Alchemy to banned in the first place." Lute began to think to herself for a while, and then responded, "That's one thing that history isn't making very clear to us. The book only states that it was banned due to a great disaster, yet we've no idea on what that disaster was. The main law that all alchemists went by was the law of Equivalent Exchange, meaning that if you wanted to obtain something, something else had to be lost. Alchemy in many ways is a science, but a very powerful one, nonetheless. There have been a lot of rumors circulating on how it happened, but the book does tell us that the cause of the disaster was by the Clan of Truth, hence why they were called 'infamous.' The biggest rumor about the disaster caused by that clan of alchemists was that they were the ones who brought the Demon King into our world."

This shocked everyone who had fought the Demon King before, as they knew how powerful he was. "Are you serious," asked Saleh and Lute answered, "Like I said, it's only a rumor, but what the book can tell me is that after Alchemy was banned, all knowledge of it, research, books, experiments and everything related to it was all put into a secret storehouse, located directly on the Western Islands." Tana heard that and said, "Do you mean the islands directly to the west of Frelia? I hear that's where the Grand Cathedral is supposed to be located. Rumors about it say that's where the Sacred Stones originated." "Is that so," L'Arachel asked and Innes replied, "Tana is right. At least, that's what history claims happened." Eirika thought about it for a moment then asked Lute, "You don't suppose that Mikel somehow entered the storehouse there and learned how to perform Alchemy, do you?" "Not possible," stated Lute. "The storehouse is protected by very strong magic not of this world or any other, so it would be very hard for him to break through. And, even if managed it, it would take many years to perform what he can today. It seems we may never know how he's capable of it." "Well," Innes began to ponder. "We could always get…." "DON'T YOU DARE THINK ABOUT IT, INNES," Joshua yelled at him as he knew that the Prince of Frelia wanted to get some information out of Natasha.

Out by the lakeside during the night, Natasha was sitting there, looking at the clear water being lit up in the moonlight. She then closed her eyes and began to dream. Everything began to turn white. Suddenly, out of the nearly endless white came a figure that running forward. The figure turned out to be that of little girl. "Mikel," the girl called out as she kept running. "Mikel, where are you?" "Here I am," called the voice of a young boy. "Look, Natasha, I made this for you." In this dream, both of the children's eyes were covered in a shadow, but the rest of their face could be seen, though the brightness of the white in this world hid their colors. "Look, Natasha," the young Mikel said as he held out his arms to show her a Pegasus made out of solid gold with jewel encrusted wings. "I made this for you. I know it's a bit smaller than what I originally planned, but I put a lot of work into it. Do you like it?" The young Natasha looked at it with a big smile on her face and said, "Wow! It's so beautiful! I do love it very much! Thank you, Mikel! You're just as talented as the master says." The two began to walk together, with Natasha holding the gold Pegasus. As the two kids began to walk off, Natasha asked the young Mikel, "Hey, Mikel, do you think we'll always stay friends forever?" "As long as we live, Natasha," he replied. "As long as we live."

As they disappeared from sight, the dream ended with the present-day Natasha opening her eyes slowly and said to herself, "As long as we live." Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere and said in a soft whisper, "Psssh, Natasha!" "Who's there," asked the startled Bishop. The voice whispered again, "It's me, Natasha." As she heard the voice again, she asked nervously, "J… Joshua?" "Oh, come on, now," the voice called out again. "You're not even trying." Just then, out of the veil of darkness between the trees came Mikel, only he didn't have his staff with him. "Hello, Natasha," he said with a pleasant smile. "Mind if I talk with you?" Natasha looked surprised to see Mikel out in the open, but quickly became angered and asked, "What are you doing here, Mikel?"

"You wound me, old friend," Mikel said trying to look sad. "I only came to have a friendly chat with you, and this is how you react? I do love that new dress you're wearing. Is that type of outfit worn by all noblewomen of Jehanna? Very fetching, I must say. Does make you look rather voluptuous." Natasha blushed from Mikel's last remark, the said to him, "So, are you going to capture or kill me?" "Now, now," Mikel responded. "I may try my best to keep myself secret, but I'm fully against doing anything very underhanded. Besides, you're compatriots have proven very well on surviving against my forces. They have been most impressive, however, such actions can also work to my advantage, but time will tell. Right now, I just want to have a talk with you." Natasha glared seriously at the man who used to be her friend, and asked him, "Okay, I'm willing to listen to you. What is it?" Mikel breathed in deeply during a pause, then asked her, "Natasha, do you… like this world we live in?" "What," asked Natasha with a shocked expression. Mikel continued to say, "This world, do you find it… suitable to your tastes? Does it have promise?"

Natasha went silent for a while then said, "Yes. Yes, I do. The road has been long and hard, but I have met many good people who have been willing to help. So, I think our world is great." Mikel smirked then replied, "Hrmph! Should have expected that you would say that. Despite all of which you and I have seen for a long time, you still believe this world to be paradise. Oh, how our ideals have blinded the both of us." "You thought the same things I did," Natasha said back to him. "Why have you chosen to believe the complete opposite?" Mikel looked out at the lake and breathed in heavily through his nostrils as to prepare to for a big speech, and started speaking, "You and I have seen everything other people turn a blind eye to because they are either to afraid to do anything about it, or they just don't care. Hidden within the pleasant side of existence has been nothing but peril and torment. Poverty, crime, starvation, sickness, we have seen it all. Some people have never known hope, and they never will. You most likely will not want to believe this, but this world is decaying. It is rotting away, because of the foolishness of humans. I want to put an end to all of it, but unfortunately, as the way the world is now, drastic measures must be taken."

"What do you mean by drastic," asked Natasha nervously and Mikel answered to that, "The world must die. However, in its wake will a now world be birthed from the ashes, like the great Phoenix." Natasha was shocked by his quote and replied, "That can't be. Sure this world is not all perfect, but there are many good people in it. There has to be another way to create paradise. If we all work together, we can make a difference." Mikel sighed then answered, "Believe me, Natasha, if there was another way, I would use it, but this is the only choice I have. Besides, you think you can get everyone to work together to solve the world's problems? Such an attempt is… virtually impossible. You only speak of idealism, and, while ideals may sound nice, they are only mere words. Honestly, how many people have you known to spew such redderick and make it all come true? People cannot be trusted like before." Mikel stopped looking out at the lack and turned in the direction he came from, and began to walk forward.

Immediately, he stopped, and then began to talk to Natasha again saying, "I'm guessing that none of your friends know of your secret." "Huh," she asked in response and he said again, "You know what I'm talking about; the secret that both you and I share. They're clueless about it, aren't they? Tsch, tsch, you claim to be their friend, yet you hide such a big secret from them. I wonder which one of us is worse?" Natasha replied to this rather fiercely and said, "How can I? I'm so afraid to tell any of them, because they've trusted me this far, especially Joshua." "I see," Mikel asked calmly. "Well, one way of another, your friends will find out eventually, and when they do, there will be no telling what they'll make of it. It would do you best to tell them before you reach Rausten. Of course, taken that you can survive. My forces are going to attack your camp very soon. Just thought I'd give you the heads up so you can get there and help them before things get a little too ugly. See you around, Natasha, and remember, try to tell them before you get to Rausten Court." After he finished talking, Mikel disappeared as he teleported away. Natasha decided to run back to camp to warn the others of the attack.

Meanwhile, in the main tent where everyone was at to listen to Lute discussion on Alchemy, Eirika and Ephraim stepped outside as to get some fresh air, and stretch a little. Just then, the two heard something. "Hey, Eirika," Ephraim asked his sister. "What made that sound?" Eirika responded, "I don't know, but I don't think it was a deer." As the two of tried to listen a little closer, they noticed that everything was dead silent, even the bugs. "You hear that, Eirika," asked Ephraim with a nervous look and she replied, "No." Ephraim spoke again, "That's just it. It's too quiet. Not even the crickets are chirping, despite it being dark out here. That must mean we're surrounded! Let's go get everyone ready for battle, sis!" Suddenly, they heard Natasha's voice call out, "Prince Ephraim! Princess Eirika!" As she came into there view, Ephraim said to her, "Natasha, good to see that you're well. It looks as though we have an ambush." "Yes, I know," Natasha immediately spoke. "Mikel has sent his forces to attack you!" This surprised the twins and Eirika asked her, "Natasha, how do you know that?" "Um... well…" Natasha stuttered. "I… I… just picked up this… strange feeling… that you were… about to be in… danger." Eirika looked confused, but Ephraim said, "Whatever, we need to get everyone who can fight ready for battle. Let's go!"

During that time, from the northeast, came a Monk and a Summoner. The Summoner appeared to be none other than Ewan. The Monk, however, had long, light magenta hair, and wore a turquoise robe with an orange cape. "Hey, Lord Nemo," Ewan asked the Monk. "Are you sure this is where Serrisian intelligence located Princess L'arachel?" Nemo answered, "Yes, I'm sure of it. Thank you, young Ewan." Ewan smiled and said to him, "Don't mention. It was kinda cool traveling with you. I'm very sorry I won't be able to fight beside you, but I have important business to do in Jehanna." "I understand and again, thank you," Nemo calmly said back to Ewan. "But, do me one favor: Try to send word to my brother, Lord Otarus, in that I have successfully located Princess L'arachel, please?" "I'll see what I can do. Good luck to you, Lord Nemo." Ewan then took off and Nemo when to the camp to find L'Arachel. After Ephraim and Eirika warned the others about the attack, everyone ran outside to intercept the oncoming raid. "Listen up, all of you," Ephraim shouted to every one of his troops. "We're fighting in complete darkness, so stay alert and don't let the enemy catch any of you by surprise." As all of them got prepared for combat, Colm and Rennac started off with each of them using a torch to clear away some of the darkness. As they did, the group found themselves against some new enemies, far different from their previous endeavors. These new monsters included half man-half fish creatures—known as Mermen, small winged and demonic beings carrying lances—called Imps, wizards each with a goat skull for a head, monstrous Trolls carrying big clubs , and demonic women who had a beautiful appearance—also known as Succubi. There were also the usual of Mikel's monsters such as Wolfmen, Lizardmen, Lizard Archers, Minotaurs, Harpies, Slimes, Ghost Knights, and Giant Snakes. Some of those creatures, however, had a different appearance and looked stronger.

Ephraim and Eirika's forces decided to wait and let the enemies come to them, that way, they could minimize casualties. Gilliam, Kyle, Duessel and Amelia stood fast for the oncoming wave of Lizardmen and Minotaurs, and took them all down. Some Wolfmen started to close in, but the bow arms of Neimi, Vash and Innes were able to stop them. Ross, Dozla, Simon, Jules, Rizo, Moulder and L'Arachel began to move across the eastern bridge to deal with some enemies on that side while Innes, Vanessa, Neimi, Colm, Gerik, Joshua, Marisa, Clark, Natasha, Artur and Lute went to the western bridge to hold off the opposition coming from there, and Ephraim, Eirika, Tana, Forde, Franz, Amelia, Kyle, Duessel, Vash, Rennac, Sky, Madison, Saleh and Knoll went to deal with the enemies coming from the south, which was from where the greater amount of enemies were coming from. Richard stayed behind in case anyone needed to return and be healed, along with Tethys. Ross, Simon and Rizo fought back a small group of Minotaurs and a Maulotaur while Dozla went in head first to fight off some Slimes and Ghost Knights. Among the Slimes were Clays, which looked a dark gray as opposed to the usual green, and were much stronger. Seeing that Dozla was having a tough time with them, L'arachel and Moulder backed him up with their magic attacks.

Rizo found himself surrounded by some Ghost Knights, as well as a few lance and bow wielding Wraith Knights, who appeared in a translucent dark purple but still had the glowing ball of ectoplasm in their chests. Eventually, the Ocean Seal that Rizo took with him started to glow. As he saw it, he knew it was time and said to the menacing apparitions with a smug look saying, "Well, well, looks like things are going a little better than you guys anticipated, eh, narf?" He focused his concentration into the emblem, then, with a burst of light, Rizo's clothes changed. The ragged gray shirt became a gray wolf skin, though it did make him a little more bare-chested, and his slacks and boots became slightly more extravagant. Rizo had now gone from Pirate to Berserker. "Heh, heh," he chuckled. "With this power, I'll be able to protect all kinds of cute girls, narf, but before that, I think it's time to conclude this little act, eh, boys? Narff!" Rizo then went into a frenzy, and took down all of the Ghost Knights and Wraith Knights with his wild axe swings.

After the fighting was done, Nemo, who had arrived near the location of the six. "Princess L'arachel," he called out and she turned around to see him and she said as he got closer to her, "Lord Nemo, is that you? What are you doing out here? I thought you were still at Rausten Court. You know that we're supposed to keep our meetings confidential." Nemo replied to this, "I know that, but had to come and tell you that my brother made it here, and is waiting to meet with Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika, as well as the other future rulers." "Otarus is here, as well? That's very good to hear. I knew he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of me forever, hee, hee, hee." "Yes," Nemo said again. "My brother was very worried about you, as well. That's why he sent me to find you. He would have come here himself, but unfortunately, he was quite busy tending to other matters. Plus, ever since these attacks started to occur, he decided that he and the rest of knights traveling with him would stay and defend Rausten Court. After all, Otarus is a better fighter than myself. Anyway, I'm here to escort you to him, if you will let me, princess." L'arachel nodded and said, "Thank you, milord. I truly am blessed by your arrival." After Nemo had joined with the group, they went to join the others in there battles.

Tana and Vanessa used their agility of their Pegasi to combat the very annoying Imps while Innes, Neimi and Vash focused on shooting down the flock of Harpies, and their stronger, yet slightly more appealing counterparts, the Sirens. Amelia and Franz went together to kill all of the Lizardmen and the few Lizard Demons, who had a red-blue coloration on their scales and could wield a sword in addition to an axe. Gilliam, Kyle, Clark and Duessel were tending to Lizard Archers and Komodo Archers, who, unlike the Lizard Demons, had a blue and black coloration, and were extremely lethal with a bow. Colm and Rennac used their quick dagger swipes to subdue both the Mermen right as they popped out of the water, which proved to be a big challenge since hardly anyone was a master of underwater combat. Gerik, Joshua and Marisa went head to head with the Ogres as well as the reinforcements of Wolfmen and Dire Wolfmen. Artur and Natasha used their light magic to hold off the Succubi's dark magic attacks, Madison and Knoll wiped out the anima-magic wielding Skull Wizards, and Saleh, Lute and Sky unleashed their spells to destroy the few Giant Snakes amongst their army.

Jules went to the north to handle the few Ogre reinforcements who were about to attack the campsite while Ephraim, Eirika and Kyle cleaned up the remaining enemies. Everyone was exhausted from the combat. Tethys danced for them to help them get their strength back while Richard, along with the other staff wielders, healed their wounds. Just then, out of the dark came a new kind of creature that looked almost like a jester, but something about it seemed very bad by looking at the creepy mask it was wearing. "Who are you supposed to be," asked Ephraim and the jester replied, "I am a Joker, and Lord Mikel wants you all dead. Now then, let's play." The Joker pulled out a hand of playing cards and threw them at the group. Right before they closed in, the cards magically grew larger. Everyone jumped out of the way right before the cards hit the ground, creating big explosions. Innes tried to feather him with an arrow, but the Joker surrounded itself with a field of enlarged playing cards as the circled around it. "That the best you can do," asked the Joker as it laughed under its breath. The Joker then took a single dais and threw it, where it then enlarged and started to roll around uncontrollably. Ross took a swipe at it, and chopped it in half.

Joshua then stood face-to-face with the Joker and said, "A monster that likes to gamble as much as me. I could almost admire that." "Ironic, isn't it, Prince Joshua," it replied back, then it formed a sword out of playing cards, and made a rush to strike the Swordmaster, but he parried it with his sword. After a climatic clash, Joshua chopped the card sword in twain, and the Joker responded to this saying, "Not bad, but now's not the time to get cocky. I hear you like to flip coins." The Joker then took out several of them in it pocket and said, "Let's see how you handle these little beauties," right before he threw all of them towards Joshua, in which then they began to rapidly spin horizontally and started to home in on him as the coins were trying to cut him. Joshua managed to dodge everyone, of course, one cut him across his left cheek. Just as the coins were about to go in simultaneously cutting him, Joshua did a quick spinning slash than knocked the coins to the ground. "Not possible," said the Joker. Just then, it pulled out a single card and said again, "Well, it seems I might have to resort to my Sunday best." The Joker turned it around to show it was the Ace of Spades. As it got ready to attack Joshua and said, "Are you ready? You won't survive this one," Ephraim pulled out a Short Spear that one of the Wraith Knights left behind and threw it right at the Joker's back. The lance hit the Joker right in the center, where the pointed end came out through its chest. The Joker stumbled to its knees and said with a dieing breath, "Not bad. The only problem is… that I'm the… least of… your w… worries." The Joker turned to dust just as the other monsters, save the Ghost Knights and Wraith Knights, did.

After the fighting was done, Natasha tended to the cut on Joshua's cheek, then Ephraim said to everyone, "Good job, everyone. Somehow, we managed to survive this ordeal." Then, Natasha got up and said nervously, "Um… Prince Ephraim, there's… something I have to… tell you." "What is it," he asked. Natasha went silent for a while then said, "Oh, it's nothing. Just, you all did great out there." Ephraim looked surprised, then replied, "Well… thanks, Natasha. Of course, we can't take all of the credit. After all, it was you who told us about that attack." "Kind of funny, though, don't you think," Innes said. "You have to wonder how she got any information on that attack before we did. Don't any of you find that a little hard to swallow?" "It doesn't matter," Eirika said in defense. "We should be thankful she was able to warn us." Tana said to this, "Me too. I mean, hey, we're alive and well, aren't we?" Joshua then stood up and merely gave Innes a cold stare. Afterwards, Ephraim approached both L'Arachel and Nemo, and said to the Monk, "So, you're called Nemo, am I correct?" "Yes, Prince Ephraim," he answered. "I have been looking most forward to meeting with you. However, I'm afraid I can't tell you everything until we get to Rausten Court, where my brother, Otarus, awaits our arrival." L'arachel said to this, "I think we should move now before we suffer another ambush. Let's go and get everything ready."

And, with that, everyone went to get packed before the night ended, except for Natasha. She stood out there quietly, where Mikel's voice echoed in her mind saying, _"Remember, try to tell them before you get to Rausten Court."_ Natasha then rummaged around her satchel that Franz made for her last year, and pulled out a small figurine of a gold pegasus with jewel encrusted wings, the same one Mikel made for her when they were still children. As she looked at it, she then held up against her bosom and closed her eyes saying to herself in thought, _"Oh, Mikel, how can I tell them? Why do you have to make this so hard on me?" _Joshua called out to her then, saying, "Hey, Natasha, come on. You need to get your stuff packed up, so we can leave." "Coming," she yelled out before she put her pegasus figurine up, and went back to the campsite. Suddenly, the figure of a man appeared in the shadows far away from the camp, and said in a familiar deep voice, "Heh, heh, so Joshua, you think you can trust that woman for very long? We'll see if you can, that is if you can survive what else my master has planned for you."

To Be Concluded in Chapter 16.


	17. Chapter 16: The Elite Six Strike!

**Chapter 16: The Elite Six Strike!**

On their way to Rausten, Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika's forces decided to set up camp in one of the more remote areas of Renais. During that night, Natasha had a secret meeting with her former friend, Mikel, who told Natasha of the attack he was planning on her comrades. Making it just in time to warn the others, Natasha was able to help them averting a possible disaster. Still, at the same time, she finds it hard to tell them the truth about her conversation with Mikel. Following L'Arachel, and the mysterious monk, Nemo, the group continues to march forward to Rausten. Even as far away from the great theocracy as they are, Natasha can still hear the message that Mikel told her last night echoing in her mind, the message about her secret that she shares with him. Mikel wanted her to tell the others about it before she got to Rausten, yet she's still hesitant about doing so. What kind of secret could Natasha possibly be hiding, and will she ever reveal it?

Taking place at an old, rundown fort, Phyllis, Molly and Damon were all together planning on their assault on the Magvel's new heirs. "Well, here we are," Molly said a bit squeamishly. "I guess I'm a little nervous." Phyllis said in response to this, "What's to be nervous about, Molly? You've done this kind of work with us before, haven't you? Remember, you're one of the Elite Six, Serris' strongest knights. Dealing with villainous scum is our specialty." Molly sighed then answered back, "I know that, but we've never had to deal with people from another continent, especially when we're in their territory. I just feel that we may be at the disadvantage here." "Now, Molly," Phyllis replied to her. "Remember, the armies of Magvel invaded our land and, yet, we were greatly defeated, despite the fact we knew every bit of the layout. Not to mention, they caught us completely off guard. Sure, we may seem dirty by trying to beat them at their own game, but at least we have a reason to do so."

Damon then started to fidget and quickly said with irritation in his expression, "Grrrrr… what in the blazes is taking those knaves so long to show up! I really hope that louse isn't cutting in on our end of the bargain! Speaking of which, do any of you know what happened to Victoria? She just left without giving us any clue on where she was going." Molly opened her mouth slowly as she was about to speak and said, "Uh, well, maybe she had some sort of business to attend to, and she wanted to make it personal." "Figures," Damon mumbled. "I don't know who's shadier, her or our so-called savior. Hey, Molly, got an idea here, why don't you let Phyllis and me take care of things here. You head off to the south-eastern border between Carcino and Jehanna, and see about preparing an ambush for our hosts, just in case they manage to get past us." "Wha—what, me," asked the now shocked Valkyrie, and Damon answered back, "Yeah, you know how to set up an ambush, don't you? Just take a few good soldiers with you, find a nice, open area and send yourself and everyone in your unit into hiding until the pigeons arrive. That simple." Molly said back to him, "I know how to setup an ambush, Damon, but why me? I'm not nearly as experienced as you guys. Why not send yourself, or Phyllis out there?" "Because," Damon said back to her with a sigh, "If all three of us get defeated here and now, then our chances of victory will be very slim. Besides, if I send Phyllis out there, she'll never let me hear the end of how I took away her chance of being able to meet Prince Ephraim, and I'm certainly not going out there, because I need to at least act as chaperone when he does manage to show up." "Hrmph, party pooper," Phyllis said while raising her nose to the air.

Damon ignored her and continued to talk to Molly saying, "Don't worry about a thing, Molly. You're gonna' do fine. If Emanuel were here with us, he would say the same thing." "Emanuel," Molly said in quite voice as if her breath had been taken away. She stood there; silent for a moment with a pleasant smile on her face as she was thinking about the man she had deep feelings for, and then said, "Okay, I'll do it! I won't let any of you down!" "At a girl, Molly," replied an encouraging Damon. "And, don't worry about us. I'm more than sure we'll be all right. Heck, with my arrow arm, none of us have anything to fear!" Molly nodded confidently and said, "Got it! I see the two of you later, then. Don't get killed on me!" "See you then, Molly," shouted Phyllis to her friend, as she was almost miles away. Just then, a Soldier appeared before Phyllis and Damon, and said, "Lord Damon! Lady Phyllis! We've just received word that Prince Ephraim's army is on its way here!" "Perfect," Damon replied. "And, about time! Very well, let's lure them in here, then we'll force them to split in two! Divide and conquer is the way to go, and how Phyllis and I have done it for quite a while! So, Phyllis, I trust you can take care of Prince Ephraim without getting too weird, right?" Phyllis crossed her arms while putting on a smug smile, and said, "Of course, I can! But, don't be too surprised if I end up making Ephraim my personal boy toy." "Yeah, yeah," remarked Damon. "Let's get into positions, everyone!"

After the two of the Elite Six and their forces get into hiding spots, Ephraim, Eirika and the others arrive at the fort. "So, Innes," Ephraim started to say. "Are you sure you saw any of those knights come in to this place? It looks awfully decrepit." Innes replied to this saying, "I'm positive. Their armor and clothes were exactly the same." "Yeah, I saw them, as well," spoke Neimi, and Ephraim said to them, "Well, if you're sure. I just don't want to feel like we're going on a wild goose chase. Besides, they must really be serious if they mean to fight us here." Gerik then stepped up to say, "Hey, what better way to kill us, and leave our bodies in a rundown place like this?" "Please, can we not talk about that, at this moment," Forde said. "After all we've had to go through, I just want to have a happy thoughts, and nothing else." "Wimp," Innes said to him, and Forde replied, "I'm no wimp, but I do know what I want." Ephraim then came up to say, "Alright, that's enough. We're here to fight the enemy, not each other. Since this place is pretty big, I say we split up to cover the area better. Eirika and I will lead the groups. Everyone, choose which one of us you'll go with." "Well, naturally," Tana started to say. "I'm going with you." Innes came up next to her and said, "And I'll come with you to make sure you're okay, little sister."

The groups were decided after a while of choosing. Eirika's group consisted of Ross, L'arachel, Dozla, Rennac, Forde, Kyle, Joshua, Natasha, Gerik, Simon, Tethys, Marisa, Sky, Madison, Saleh, Myrhh, Jules and Vash, while Ephraim's group was made up of Tana, Innes, Vanessa, Gilliam, Moulder, Clark, Franz, Amelia, Duessel, Colm, Neimi, Lute, Artur, Richard, Knoll, Rizo and Nemo. After that, the groups went down their seperate paths. Just then, a Hero who had apparently heard everything ran off, then he came up to Damon to tell him the news. "Really," Damon asked. "They actually fell for it?" The Hero replied, "Yes, Lord Damon. Princess Eirika's group is headed our way, and it seems Ephraim's is making their way towards Lady Phyllis' direction." Damon then replied, "Very good. Send out a to signal to let Phyllis know to put the plan into action." Just then, the Hero bowed to Damon and then turned around to a fellow soldier to give a hand gesture to them to let them know it was time. Like a chain reaction, other soldiers who were in hiding were giving hand gestures to other ones until they got to Phyllis' side where the last soldier to see the signal was a Berserker, who then came up to Phyllis to tell her it was time. "I can't believe it was this easy. I hope for things to be more challenging. Oh well, time for the main event." Phyllis then waved her hand to create a circle of magical energy in the air. Then, after a bit of waving, she touched the ground quickly. As Eirika and Ephraim's respective group were split up and deciding where to start exploring, they felt the ground rumble. "Oh no, is this an earthquake," Neimi shouted and Clark replied, "I don't think so, but I don't like the sound of things." On Eirika's side also started to feel the rumbling. "What's going on here," Jules asked in a panicked state and Simon replied, "I'm starting to get the feeling we just walked into another trap." Kyle then shouted out loud, "Look, a wall is rising!" Everyone in Eirika's group looked to see a wall jutting out of the floor and rising to the ceiling. Ephraim's group was able to hear Kyle yell and also saw the wall rising up until it reached the ceiling and stopped, which also made the rumbling stop.

Ephraim ran to the wall and yelled out, "Eirika! Are all of you okay!" "Yes," Eirika shouted back barely hearing Ephraim behind the wall. "But where did this wall come from!" Knoll then said, "A wall materializing out of the ground? This must be the work of some very strong magic." "Indeed it is," replied Phyllis, whose voice came from a distance. Ephraim's group turned around to see Phyllis arriving towards them as she was accompanied by a pair of Druids, a Bishop and a Mage Knight. Nemo, seeing who it was, put himself into hiding and said in thought, "Phyllis? She's... alive?" Ephraim stepped forward and asked her, "Who are you?" "Wow, so you're Prince Ephraim, huh," Phyllis replied with a question of her own. "You're even more gorgeous than I even imagined. I think I'm going to have fun making you into my new playmate." "Wha... what," Ephraim could only reply in an uncomfortable manner and then Tana came up to say to Phyllis, "Wow, just a few minutes encountering one another, and I'm already getting sick of you." "You must be Frelia's Princess Tana, I assume," Phyllis responded to her and Tana responded back, "That's right, and I'll fight anyone to the death who makes a move on Ephraim."

Phyllis just shook her head making a displeased sound with her mouth closed then said, "Poor Ephraim, he certainly has no taste in women. Come on, Ephraim, dump that hag and join with us." "You're kidding, right," asked a very disturbed and embarrassed Ephraim and Phyllis replied, "If you do, I'll show just how truly magical I can be." She then gave him a cute wink, which served to only anger Tana as she stepped off her pegasus and began to walk towards Phyllis rolling up her sleeve as she was going to deck her while saying in an angered tone, "Why you little..." Just then, Innes grabbed Tana by the arm to stop her, saying, "Whoa, let's not get carried away here, sister." "But she... she..." Tana said still in tone full of rage and Innes responded, "I know, but we'll take care of her the traditional way." "And you must be Prince Innes," Phyllis asked him, following up with, "You're pretty sexy, yourself, but I think Ephraim is the real babe." Vanessa, hearing that, said to Innes, "Prince Innes, I think you should let your sister hit her." Ephraim then said, "Let's calm down," then he said to Phyllis, "I'm sorry, but I choose to be with Tana, and obviously, you're ready to attack my friends. I'm not going to betray my allies just to fulfill your bizarre fantasies about me."

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy," Phyllis replied with a sigh. "Why do the handsome ones have to play hard to get? No matter, though, it'll make things more fun. Prepare yourselves, I am a Sister of the Heavens in the Elite Six of Serris' imperial army! I am known as Phyllis of the Noble Storm! My skill in magic is without peer, as you'll come to understand as I rain down just punishment upon you!" Phyllis then started to run back to where she came from and the Druids, Bishop and Mage Knight followed her back, and Amelia came up next to Ephraim to ask him, "What did she mean by 'just punishment?' Did we do something wrong?" "No telling," Ephraim answered her. "But she's got something against us, and we're going to find out just what that is." As Phyllis reached the back, she then shouted out, "All units! To arms! It's time we showed them the true might of Serris! But, do me a favor, and don't hurt Prince Ephraim too badly. Tee hee." After that, the soldiers under Phyllis' command came out of hiding. Her forces mostly consisted of magic users, such as Bishops, Druids, other Sages and Mage Knights, though there were also some melee units, such as Paladins, Falcoknights, Halberdiers and a couple of Berserkers guarding Phyllis, as well as a lone Mercenary who was just a young boy about the same age as Amelia, Franz and Ross with hair the same color as Vash's, but it went out in all directions. He wore dark green shirt and brown pants." "Somehow, I get the feeling the soldiers under this girl's command are a lot stronger than the ones we fought before," Ephraim stated and Innes remarked, "If she commands such a fierce battalion, we can only assume she's no pushover, either." Tana got back onto her pegasus and said, "I don't care. No force is going to stop me from shutting up that hussy about stealing Ephraim from me."

Meanwhile, on Eirika's side, Eirika had her ear up against the wall to listen what was going on on the other side of it. "Seems there was some commotion on the other side," she said. "I wonder what it could be?" Just then, Damon's voice replied, "That's just my partner getting ready to assault your brother's troupe. Everyone turned to see Damon riding towards them, being accompanied by a Hero, a Warrior and some Snipers. "We finally meet, Princess Eirika," Damon said to her and she replied back to him, "I'm flattered you know me, but I don't know you." Damon smirked and said, "You'll know my name, soon enough, filthy wench!" Kyle took offense to this and shouted, "How dare you call Renais' future queen something so offensive!" "How dare I," asked Damon whose smile faded to an angered look, "How dare YOU attack our people when our defenses were down and were living in peace!" Eirika looked surprised and asked, "What are you talking about?" This only served to rile up Damon even more as he shouted, "Don't feign ignorance! Your forces poisoned our drinking waters! You used guerrilla tactics and set up traps that caught us off guard! You killed innocent people and families we tried to protect! You're all pure evil! Even demons have a higher sense of honor than you! You nothing more than bandits and criminals in our eyes! Our great continent of Serris has fallen because of your power hungry ways." Forde crossed his arms in front of his chest and said, "Someone's a little uptight... and very wrong." Eirika added to that, "I don't know what you're saying. We never sent any soldiers to attack your continent. Magvel has been busy with reconstruction ever since the fight with the Demon King. Our forces have been spread so thin, we haven't had time to prepare war with another nation, let alone another continent. And besides, we'd never do something like that. It's against our honor."

"Shut up," Damon shouted to her. "I've had enough of your lies! And I've had enough of you! I know what I saw and I know what I went up against! Prepare yourselves for a righteous butchering! You've had this coming for a while! I'm a Brother of the Earth in the Elite Six of Serris' imperial army! Fear and tremble for I am Damon of the Blazing Bow!" Damon rode back to where he came from, with the others that came with him following after. Ross then said, "Gee, that guy has some serious issues. "Wait a minute," L'arachel said. "That man was one of the people we saw in Darkling Woods that time." Dozla then came up to say to her, "I do believe you are right, Princess." "If your sure," Eirika told them. "Let's make sure to ask him what he was doing there." Damon then reached the back and shouted, "Time for battle! Their armies showed us no mercy when they slaughtered us, so give them no quarter! Exterminate the fiends!" The soldiers under Damon's command came out of hiding. The battalion consisted of Warriors, Heroes, Snipers, Paladins, Swordmasters, Wyvern Lords, Halberdiers and guarding Damon were a couple of Generals. Among a group of Halberdiers was a female soldier who also had hair similar in color to Vash's. She wore a thin headband that was white in color, orange armor and a brown dress.

"Wow," said a worried Eirika. "Such a powerful squadron we have to deal with. This man we're fighting, though he seems easily riled, he's without a doubt a professional. We musn't let up. We're going to get through this and reunite with my brother!" Jules was busy looking at all of the Snipers, as well as the Warriors and Halberdiers who were armed with bows and said to himself, "Wow, there sure are a lot of bowmen here. The fact we're fighting inside doesn't make matters any better for me and Gustov." Madison replied back to him, "Don't worry, dear cousin. I'll deal with the bow wielders. Just be sure to protect me from anyone with a close range weapon." Jules said to her, "Thanks, cousin. That puts me more at ease. Oh, by the way, I picked this up not too long ago, and figured you could use it." "What is it," she asked and Jules handed her the item, which lead to her saying, "It's a Master Seal! Thanks, this is what I need to truly fight for everyone's survival." Jules then said back, "No problem. But even when you use it, don't push yourself so hard." "Same goes for you, cousin," said Madison. After that, Eirika's group made its charge. Eirika Joshua, Marisa and Gerik decided to use their sword arms to deal with the few Warriors armed with axes and Heroes that made their advance while Vash, Ross and Simon used their bows to deal with the Wyvern Lords to weaken them while Jules went in to finish them off. Forde and Kyle brandished their lances against the Paladins and lance-wielding Halberdiers.

Dealing with the Snipers, and bow-wielding Halberdies and Warriors was all the magic users with Eirika. L'arachel and Sky were assaulting the Halberdiers with combined blasts of Elfire and Elthunder, while Saleh and Natasha were using blasts of Divine to stop the Warriors, and Madison decided to take the fight to the Snipers. Because she knew she'd be taking injuries from the fight, Madison decided to attack them with the Nosferatu spell to keep her strength up, but she was still getting very tired. "My body's so weak right now from using so much magic," she thought to herself. "But I can't give up. I want to fight for everyone's well being, especially Sky's. I need to be strong and unafraid, just like he is." Madison was looking around as her friends were getting tired from a battle much fiercer than any they fought before, and some taking some big injuries, which they were using vulneraries to mend up while they weren't in battle. Madison then said in thought, "Please, someone... grant me the strength to help my friends." Just then, Madison felt a warm pulsation coming from her handbag, and then, she pulled out the Master Seal to see that it was glowing for her. "It must mean... I'm ready. Thank you... for answering my prayer." Madison then held the seal close to her chest and was enveloped in a bright light. After glowing brighter and brighter, the light soon started to die down, and Madison was then dressed in more extravagant looking robes as she felt greater power than before. Madison was now a Druid.

Sky saw Madison in her new garb and said, "Wow, just look at you, Miss High-and-Mighty Dark Mage. You're ready for the big leagues, now." "And it's all thanks to Master Saleh's teaching and to my cousin for giving me the Master Seal," replied Madison. "You also have a part to play in it, Sky. Being around you gives me strength." Sky just blushed and said, "Uh, thanks a lot." Just then, the female soldier saw what happened and said, "So, that's how a promotion occurs. I'd better stop her fast while she's distracted." She then ran after Madison with her lance ready. She got close enough before Madison could see her, and even once Madison saw her, she couldn't cast a spell fast enough to stop her. "Hah!" shouted the Soldier who jumped high with her lance, ready to impale Madison. Jules rushed in to knock Madison out of the way so he could parry the Soldier's lance with his axe. As she landed, the Soldier jumped out of the way before Jules could attack her, then she said to him, "Get in my way, I'll put you down." "No one sneak attacks my cousin and gets away with it," Jules threatened her. The two then got into a fight where they were very much equal.

Vash, hearing the battle behind him, turned around to ready his bow, but once he saw the Soldier, he then said out loud, "Samantha?" The Soldier heard him, and turned to see Vash asking him out loud, "Vash, is that you?" Vash then ran up to her, and he shouted, "Hey, Jules, stop fighting her. This is my sister." "Your sister," the Wyvern Lord asked him, then he asked Samantha, "Is that true?" "Unfortunately so," answered the female Soldier which got Vash to reply with, "Why do you always have to be so hurtful to me like that? I am your big brother, you know." "Too bad you don't act like one," responded Samantha. "You're always getting into trouble, doing and saying stupid things, and to top it all off, you left Trip and me alone when we really needed your help the most. I'm willing to bet you got into debt again, didn't you? And with Captain Jack, of all people."

"That's... none of your business," stammered Vash in a look that says he just got caught with his pants down and Samantha replied, "I'm right! You did get into debt again! Ooh, I can't believe you! You know when you get into debt, that also affects your family! Haven't you even begun to think about that, you dolt! We became privateers under Captain Jack to earn money for our parents, not so you can waste it all to get drunk or satisfy yourself with some stripper!" "Man, you cut deep," said Vash has he knew she was right and Samantha continued on to say, "I'm surprised Rizo hasn't come to collect," which to that, Vash said, "Actually... he's with us. He's trapped with Prince Ephraim's group, though he amazingly hasn't collected yet. Something is holding him back. I mean, I thought he would've broken my knees already since he is the Captain's right hand man." "Uh," Sky interrupted. "This is all fun and everything, but we've got a battle going on. You going to join us or not, Samantha?" Samantha quickly said to him, "I'm joining with you. That way, I can keep an eye on my boneheaded brother." She turned back to Vash, and said, "You have a lot of making up to do with Trip. You just had better hope he's still alive after this is over, because his death will be on your head." "Trip's also here," asked Vash and Samantha answered, "He's with the other battalion. Hopefully, if you're right about Rizo being with your other friends, he might be able to convince our youngest sibling to join with us. Until then, it's you and me." "Welcome aboard our crew," Jules said to her and she responded with, "Thanks." And after that, the five of them went off.

Meanwhile, on Ephraim's side, they were having a much tougher time dealing with Phyllis' magic users that were hindering the advances of Ephraim, Franz, Gilliam, Duessel, Amelia and Rizo, though Moulder, Artur, Lute, Knoll and Nemo were doing their best to hold them off, as were Tana and Vanessa since they were more resilient to magic than other melee units. The swift movements of the enemy Falcoknights didn't make matters any easier, even with the bow arms of Innes, Clark and Neimi. One Falcoknight tried to make her way towards Lute, but she caught her in time with an Elwind blast, though not enough to keep the Falcoknight from grazing her arm. Richard rushed to her in time to heal her up. After a few of Phyllis' magic users had been killed off, some Paladins and Halberdiers began to make their advance. The Paladins were no problem for both Ephraim, Franz and Gilliam's lance work, while Rizo, Amelia and Duessel got their axes out for the Halberdiers welding lances, though the ones with bows proved to be a bit more problematic for the gang. Artur and Lute combined forces to help fight off the bow-using Halberdiers and were doing well, until one that was still clinging to life managed to hit Artur in the shoulder. Seeing this, Lute got angry and finished off the Halberdier with an Elfire blast. She then tended to Artur with her staff while saying, "You need to be more careful, Artur. You're not a prodigy like I am."

"I know," Artur said with a chuckle. "But we're all fighting the same fight here, and I just need to do my part." As the group managed to advance some more, the young Mercenary saw them and said, "Guess it's time I man up and get down to business." The Mercenary then began to advance. He stopped when he saw Amelia fighting a Halberdier, axe to lance, and said afterwards to himself, "Hey, I think that girl looks to be my age, though it's amazing how she fights in that heavy armor. She's really pretty. Can't think about that now, though. I'm a privateer serving under the mighty Captain Jack, so here I go." After Amelia defeated the Halberdier, she heard the Mercenary yelling and looked to see him rushing towards her. Realizing it would take time to arm her lance, she tossed her axe aside and pulled out her sword and blocked the Mercenary's Steel Blade with her shield. After that, the two of them got into a sword fight. Amelia's defenses with her armor and shield were too strong his attacks, and the Mercenary was too quick for her attacks. "Wow, you're pretty good," said Amelia to the boy and replied, "So are you. You know, this is pretty fun, even though we are fighting for survival." "It kind of is," Amelia replied back. "Course, I will have to win." The Mercenary responded, "Not if it's me who comes out winning, and I must succeed. I have my family to fight for." The two continued their sword fight.

Rizo finished knocking out a few Sages and Halberdiers, then started to make his advance forward, though when he saw that Amelia was fighting the Mercenary, his first instinct was to help her, until he saw who the Mercenary was and said, "Hey, I think that's Trip, nnarf! What's he doing here? Nearf, I'd better go over there and stop him before he gets himself hurt." Rizo rushed over to where Amelia and the Mercenary that Rizo called Trip were and said to Amelia, "Amelia, stop fighitng him, narff!" "Why, Rizo," asked Amelia. "Do you know him?" Rizo replied with a smile, "Sure do, nurf! This is Trip, Vash's little brother and youngest of the Aujo siblings, narrf!" "Rizo," Trip asked. "Is that you? I can't believe it's you! What are you doing here!" Rizo then answered him saying, "I actually came here looking for Vash, narf! And I found him!" "You mean my brother's with you," Trip asked and Rizo said, "Well, he's stuck with Princess Eirika's half of our group, nrf nrrf! I just hope he's okay." Trip then said, "Samantha is with that other battalion. Maybe Vash and her met up." "I certainly hope so, narf! Your sister is a real cute one and it be a shame to our company if we were to lose her, nnerf," Rizo replied. Just then, the rest of Ephraim's company met up with the three fighters and said, "Alright, we've got their main forces driven off. Now we just need to deal with any reinforcements, and then, go and stop Phyllis." After hearing Ephraim say that, Rizo said to himself very quietly, "I still can't believe I'm fighting Serris' imperial army, including Phyllis. Some of them didn't even hesitate in attacking Prince Nemo."

Just then, Tana saw Trip and come up to talk to him saying, "Aren't you a cute little boy. What's your name?" "I'm Trip," he said. "And I'm fighting for my family." Tana giggled and replied, "Aren't we all?" "Well, we've got us another ally in this fight, so let's use his help and charge forward," Ephraim commanded and they rushed to meet with the appearing reinforcements, which consisted of more Sages, Druids and Bishops. Artur, Lute, Moulder, Nemo and Knoll all countered their magical attacks with their own, allowing Ephraim and the other melee fighters to swoop in and strike. Phyllis was watching them from her end and said, "They're all doing much better than I thought, even if they are a little unorthodox. Guess it's time to up the ante." Phyllis then pulled out a Bolting tome and opened it up. "I've got you in my sights, now," Phyllis said with grin, then she began to chant some words from the tome before she yelled out, "BOLTING!" Just then, Ephraim looked up to see some Thunder magic forming over him. Knowing of the danger, Ephraim yelled to others saying, "Everyone, get out of the way!" The others did just that before a massive bolt of lightning hit the ground.

"Ooh, guess I was a little slow with that blast. I won't be next time," Phyllis said as if she was enjoying this and Vanessa said, "She's got a Bolting tome. This just got a lot harder." "Especially with us being in a confined area. She's truly a tactical genius," said Innes as he was impressed by her. Phyllis then said out loud as if she was talking to the two Berserkers guarding her, "And that's why they call me Phyllis of the Noble Storm, because I strike like thunder and have the power of a hurricane! It's time to face your defeat, evildoers!" "Who's that little hussy calling an evildoer," asked Tana as she thought of Phyllis as nothing more than a hypocrite and skank. Gilliam then readied himself and said, "I'll get her! Everyone, cover me!" Gilliam then charged for her. "Getting desperate, I see," Phyllis said with an increasingly smug look before she chanted words from her tome and shouted again, "BOLTING!" Before Gilliam could get to her, he was blasted by the bolt of lightning and got knocked off his horse. "GILLIAM," shouted Innes Tana, Vanessa and Moulder, and Clark followed them by saying, "Sir Gilliam!" Ephraim and the others rushed over to the fallen Great Knight who was knocked unconscious. "Is he going to be okay," asked a worried Tana. Richard put his ear to Gilliam's chest and was able to hear a faint heartbeat through his armor. "His life is yet his own," the blind priest said which relieved Tana and the other Frelians. "But...," Richard continued on. "He is in shock and will be out for some time. The best we can do is to heal his injuries and leave him to rest." Innes then said to him, "We understand, and thank you." Phyllis watched them take care of Gilliam and thought to herself, "Maybe these Magvelians do know something of honor after all. Could we have been wrong about them? Well, can't stop to think now. I still have a mission to complete, but I won't attack anyone that's defenseless." Phyllis then put away her Bolting tome, and then spoke out to Ephraim saying, "Prince Ephraim, it seems you do know of honor. For that, I will not cast Bolting anymore, so you and your posse are free to come at me, though you still need to get past my guard."

Ephraim then said, "If that's how you want it, we'll break through your guard and stop you! Franz, Duessel, Rizo, Amelia, Clark, Colm, Trip, you're all with me. Innes, Neimi, Lute, Artur, Knoll, I want you to cover us. The rest of you, stay back and tend to Gilliam." "Why can't Vanessa and I come with you," asked Tana and Ephraim said to her, "Because I get the feeling she's smart enough to know to use wind magic, and your pegasi would get ravaged." "Smart thinking," Vanessa said to him with Tana following in saying, "You all just be careful." Ephraim nodded to her then he lead the charge against Phyllis and her two guardian Berserkers. "Shall we, Lady Phylllis," said one of the Berserkers to her and she replied with, "Sure, go and play." The Berserkers then charged for them, and Ephraim said, "Amelia, Franz, take them down!" "On it," the two of them said in unison as they both took out their swords to gain the advantage over their axes. "I'll help," said Trip as he went to deal with the Berserker that Franz was fighting. Rizo decided to take on the other Berserker who was fighting Amelia. Ephraim and the others still continued their charge towards Phyllis. "That's right. Come to me, my handsome and yummy warrior," said Phyllis as she was ready for them. She then pulled out a Tornado tome, open it up to chant some words, then shouted, "TORNADO!" Just then, Ephraim's team stopped as a big twister formed. Lute, Artur and Knoll came forward to help. "Fire beats wind," Lute said as both her and Artur pulled out their own respective Elfire tome, and casts their spells to dispel the windstorm but the tornado was still holding up even if it was a little weakened.

Phyllis smirked and said, "Sorry, need something a little stronger to stop this spell." Hearing that, Knoll pulled out his Elflux tome and cast his spell. The strong dark energies canceled out both spells, which shocked Phyllis as she said, "No way! I'm Phyllis of the Noble Storm! My hurricane of justice never dies out! Grrr, I'll show you! TORNA...!" Just then, her tome was knocked out of her hand by a couple of arrows. They turned out to be shot by Innes and Neimi, and Innes said to her, "You're not getting another chance to cast your spells." Ephraim then reached Phyllis before she could run to get her Tornado tome or pull out her Bolting tome, and pointed his lance at her neck, saying, "You've lost, Phyllis." Phyllis put on a disgruntled look and said, "Well, since I've lost, why don't you go ahead and kill me? Your soldiers killed defenseless people, so I shouldn't matter."

"You're one strange lady," Ephraim replied back to her. "First you hit on me, wanting me to leave Tana for you. Now, you're babbling nonsense. If you haven't noticed, right now, Magvel is still under some massive healing after our fight with the Demon King. We haven't the time or manpower to invade another land when we're still busy with restoration. What makes you so sure it was our soldiers that attacked you?" "Because the armor they wore was different and banners they carried were different from ours, and come to find out when we arrived in Magvel, you all wore the same armor and carried the same banners as the people who attacked us," shouted Phyllis and Tana replied, "That's impossible! And even if it were true, what would be our reason for attacking you?" Phyllis could only shout back, "That's what I would like to know. What was the reason for you to attack us? What did we all do so wrong to feel your wrath!" Ephraim thought to himself for minute, then said, "This whole thing has Mikel written all over it!" "But why would Mikel be involved," asked Phyllis. "He saved us. He gave us back our lives, literally." Ephraim then said to her, "Answer me this, then. Did the soldiers you fight happen to have purple glowing eyes?" "As a matter of fact," Phyllis said as she just remembered something. "They did. In fact, some of the soldiers we managed to kill turned into dust." Ephraim thought this through more and Innes came up to him, saying, "You piecing the puzzle, as well, Ephraim?" "Yeah," he replied. "And if we're right, Mikel has the power to bring people back from the dead, but only better than what Lyon could do. Listen, Phyllis, whatever happened with the Magvelian soldiers you fought, I think it's going to happened with the bodies of your own men and women. Take a look." Suddenly, everyone noticed the bodies exuding a purple mist, followed by them exploding into purple dust. Phyllis looked on with horror, and said, "But, he said... he said... he put those objects in us to restore our lives! I didn't know that would happen! What in the holy name of Serris have we got inside of us! I have to warn Damon about this!"

As that was all going on Ephraim's side, Eirika's team managed to deal with the main forces, as well as the reinforcements, which consisted of more Heroes, Warriors and Halberdiers. Now it was just down to Damon and his two Generals guarding him. "These people have proven to be real pests. Strong, but still pests," Damon said in a frustrated manner. "Guess it's time to show them why my bow is truly on fire." Damon then looked at the two Generals and shouted, "As for you two, get out there and fight them!" "But sir," one General started to say. "Don't you need protection? You'll be vulnerable if we leave you to fight." Damon became very angered by this and said, "Don't question me like that again! We're the only ones left, so we have no choice but to fight, and besides, I'll cover you with my bow. Now, get out there and do your kingdom proud!" "Yes, sir," both Generals said and they went to meet with Eirika's forces.

Simon said about the approaching Generals, "He's sending his guard out. Either he's making a mistake, or he's got something planned." "No time to ponder the possibilities," Eirika replied to Simon. "Let's just meet up with them, and take them down, then we'll strategize on what to do about their leader, Damon. Kyle, Ross, Simon, Gerik, Jules, Dozla, meet those knights' lances with your axes. Madison, Sky, assist them with your magic. The rest of us, we'll try to make our way to Damon. Be careful, though, he looks like he could be dangerous with that bow of his. Alright, let's move!" Eirika's group then met with the remaining soldiers. Gerik, Simon, Dozla and Sky faced off against one General, while Ross, Jules, Kyle and Madison took on the other one. While the Generals were busy, the rest of Eirika's group ran past them and started to make their way to Damon, who was readying his Brave Bow and said, "Now, feel the burning power of my arrows, and repent for your wickedness!" Damon then started to fire arrows like crazy as he had a full three quivers of arrows on the side of his horse, as well as one on his back. Eirika's force had to delay their advance to dodge the storm of arrows that Damon was shooting at them. "This guy's bow arm is crazy," Joshua exclaimed. "Who knows when he'll run out of arrows!" Eirika then said, "He's definitely got us pinned. Vash, meet his bow with your own. Saleh, L'arachel, assist him with your magic. I think I have an idea, and I hope it works if you all keep him busy long enough." "What is your plan," L'arachel asked her and she replied, "If all works out and that's the only one he has, I'll try to destroy his bow." Saleh then added in, "That might just work. We'll keep him busy long enough to give you room enough to reach him."

Eirika nodded to them, then the three she gave commands to went forward to attack Damon. Damon then saw the three of them approaching and readying their weapons and said, "Your rushing for me could only mean you've thought up a strategy. Well, I'll call your assault with my arrows." Damon started to fire arrows again, forcing the three to dodge. Vash met him with his arrows, which Damon dodged and fired back. Saleh and L'arachel aided Vash with blasts of Divine and Elfire. None of the magic attacks could hit Damon, though they did rattle his horse, which made it harder for the Brother of the Earth to aim his bow properly. He then see the Generals get taken down by the rest of Eirika's squad, but was mainly focused on Jules, since he was riding a wyvern. Damon grinned and readied an arrow. He fired it, and hit the wyvern right in the wing, causing it to screech in pain. "No, Gustov," shouted Jules as his wyvern was too hurt to fly anymore and crashed to the ground. Jules got off his wyvern to look at the wound and said, "You'll be okay, Gustov! Damn that guy for what he did! I hope Princess Eirika makes him pay dearly for it!" Sky saw what happened, and he brought his staff over to heal Gustov. Damon's action only served to have Vash, Saleh and L'arachel fight him even harder. As they did, Eirika made a rush for Damon, who saw this but was unable to do anything with the attack he was under. Eirika then came up to him and jumped up high, ready to bring down her Rapier. Damon held up his bow to block it, just like Eirika predicted, but the Rapier sliced right through his bow with ease, destroying it. As she landed, Damon looked at his broken bow and tossed it aside, saying to Eirika, "Just because you destroyed my bow doesn't mean I'm completely defenseless." Damon then pulled out his Killing Edge and began to attack Eirika with it. She did her best to guard and parry each strike from Damon's sword, though he was coming at her with full force. However, when their swords became locked, Damon knocked the Rapier out of Eirika's hand and immediately pointed his blade at her throat.

"Princess Eirika," shouted Forde and Kyle as they were about to rush to her aid, but Damon stopped them by saying, "Not another move from any of you, or slice her pretty little neck." The others couldn't do anything but watch as this was happening. "So, Princess Eirika," Damon said to her. "How does it feel to be defenseless? Not too good, does it? I think our people felt the same way before your forces slaughtered them like they were just mere farm animals to feed a hungry mass." Eirika replied, "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about. We've been busy restoring our own continent." "Not one more word from you," yelled Damon. "Or I'll cleave you down the middle! Do you understand me! I'll do it! I have every right to..." Suddenly, everyone felt the ground begin to rumble, then they turned to see the wall coming down. Damon was shocked by this and said, "What's the meaning of this! Did Phyllis lose!" As the wall was gone, Damon saw Phyllis running towards him, along with Ephraim's crew. Phyllis then made it to Damon and said, "Stop everything, Damon! I think we've been deceived!" "What are you talking about," asked a curious Damon and Phyllis replied back, "Mikel has tricked us! The soldiers that we fought back in Serris were Magvelian, but I think whatever he put in us to bring us back to life, he also used in the invading forces! Damon, I think Mikel was the one who attacked us, not the rulers of Magvel!" "How do you know this," asked Damon who was even more curious as to what Phyllis was saying and she pointed him to the bodies of men. Everyone looked to see bodies exuding purple mist before exploding into purple dust. Damon was horrified by this and shouted, "That's what happened with the few soldiers we were able to defeat! That dastard! He's fooled us all! If that's the case, then what have we been fighting for!" Eirika then asked him, "So, what will you do, now, Damon of the Blazing Bow?" Damon pulled his sword away from Eirika grudgingly and said, "Fine, we concede. You were right, all along."

Outside of the fort, the twins' army were conversing with Damon and Phyllis. "So, Mikel really did bring you all back to life," Ephraim asked them and Damon said to him, "We actually died and Mikel revived us and our forces. At least, that's what he told us. I mean, we didn't exactly feel any different. All we knew is that were breathing again." Phyllis then chimed in to say, "But thanks to you, we now know he did the same thing with your forces. As to why, we don't know, but we'll figure it out." "Since we're no longer enemies," Eirika started to say. "Why don't you join with us? We can figure out the truth together." Phyllis smiled and said, "That's a generous offer, and I'd love to be around Prince Ephraim more, but... I think this is something we have to do on our own." Damon said after her, "Yeah, and we don't need any interferences when I plan to strangle the truth out of Mikel myself." Ephraim then responded with, "Good luck to both of you, then." "Thank you, and good luck to you, my handsome warrior" said Phyllis as she came up and kissed him on his left cheek before she backed away giggling. Tana, seeing this, put on a perturbed look while Ephraim could only rub the side of his face. Damon then pulled on Phyllis' arm, saying, "Alright, that's enough. Let's go." As they were leaving, the twins waved bye to them, and Damon and Phyllis waved back before heading off.

"Well," Ephraim said, "They're unique people, but ferocious combatants. It's a good thing we're now on the same side as them." Eirika replied, "It's good to know they have a sense of honor. I guess we need to do a little fact-finding ourselves on why Mikel would turn such good people against us." "You're right," Ephraim said. "We need to solve this mystery before it gets even bigger. Let's head back to camp. As they were leaving back for camp, Rennac came beside Vash, and said to him, "Here, I got you something that I think will prove useful to you." Rennac tossed him an Orion's Bolt and he said, "Wow, an Orion's Bolt. How did you come by it?" Rennac answered, "Let's just say I plucked it from one of the soldiers under that's Damon guy's command when he wasn't looking." Samantha then said to Vash, "Just don't squander your good fortune." Vash replied, "No way, I'm going to get stronger with this puppy. Then, I'll prove to you and Trip that I'm a good big brother." Meanwhile, Eirika came up beside Forde and Kyle, and said, "Sorry if I worried the two of you not too long ago." "We're just glad you're okay, Princess," Kyle said and Forde added in saying, "He definitely put up one heck of a fight, though, and you have to respect him for that." "Indeed," Eirika said. Tana and Vanessa flew up to Gilliam, who was now awake, and back on his steed. "Sir Gilliam," Vanessa said. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Gilliam replied, "I feel better now, but I'm ashamed I was knocked out so easily. Guess I just don't have much resistance towards magic." "I'm just glad you didn't die on us," Tana stated. "Otherwise, we might not have heard the end of it from Syrene. She is your fiance, after all." Gilliam then said back to her, "I know, and I plan to live for her. I just hope she's okay, herself."

Phyllis and Damon, who were still walking, were conversing more on what Mikel truly wanted with them and why he bothered to bring them back to life. "It still doesn't make sense," Phyllis said. "Why attack us, and have us attack people who are not responsible for the attack? What's he plan to gain out of it?" Damon said to her, "I know I haven't been very questioning of Mikel's practices, but maybe I need to start being that way. He's really been a shady character since we first met him, yet I've been so eager to fight. I must be a complete fool. What do you think?" "Well," Phyllis began to say. "Would you take offense if I said just a little? Course, I guess I'm no different from wanting Prince Ephraim for myself." Damon then smiled and said, "I guess in a way, we're all fools. How much so varies from person to person." "Oh wait a minute," Phyllis said as she just remembered something. "We forgot to tell them about Molly. She still has an ambush waiting for them." Damon replied back, "Yeah, but she has a better heart than us, so she might be moved by their words more than we were." Phyllis calmed back down and said, "Yeah, I suppose you're right. She always was the gentle one." As they continued to walk, they saw someone coming towards them.

As the person got closer to them, they could tell it was Victoria. "Hey, it's Victoria," Phyllis said and Damon replied, "Perfect, we can drag the information we need out of her." As Victoria came to them, they all stopped walking and Victoria said, "So, you failed to dispose of the rulers of Magvel. I guess the Elite Six isn't quite what I thought it could be." "Actually," Damon started to say. "It's because they're not responsible for that attack. Fess up, those Magvelian soldiers were actually working for Mikel, weren't they?" Phyllis added in, "Yeah, and he brought them back to life just like he did with us. You've done nothing but lie to us!" Victoria just smiled at this and said, "I guess you're finally piecing everything together. I suppose you would have over time." "But why," asked Damon angrily. "Why make us fight people that had nothing to do with the attack!" Victoria responded, "There's no reason to know that when you're about to be executed." Phyllis said, "And who's going to do it? You?" Victoria smiled again and said, "Yes." Damon just smirked and said, "And how do you plan to do it when you have no weapon?" "Just like this," Victoria said and from the person's point of view, Victoria's shadow grew bigger, making Phyllis and Damon look up as they then put on horrified looks. "You... you're a... a...," Phyllis said as she was now scared. After that, the picture goes black and all you can hear is Phyllis and Damon scream.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 17.


	18. Chapter 17: Redemption

**Chapter 17: Redemption**

Trapped in a rundown fort and separated from each other, the twins and their forces fought two warriors named Damon and Phyllis, who belonged to a group calling themselves the Elite Six, who were the great generals of the imperial army that came from the continent of Serris. These people were under Mikel's orders to eliminate Magvel's leaders by Mikel, but after a grueling battle, the two generals learned that Mikel was just using them. Realizing that fact, the two of them let the twins go and continue their journey to Rausten. Now knowing the full power of Serris' military might, the twins and their company vowed to be more vigilant and careful about their next move, and how they deal with the next assault.

The scene takes place inside of a castle that's probably the grandest and most lavish place anyone has been in, yet it has a commanding look for it that says the king who lives in it is a very strong man. Standing in front of the throne is a man with the most elegantly, daunting armor a person could wear that was gunmetal with gold trim and it had a gold dragon's head in the middle of his chestplate. He wore a dark red robe with gold and black trim and he wore a dark purple cloak with white and silver fur lining. His hair was dark magenta and wavy, and came down to his neck. He looked a little old in the face, but was still very distinguished. From how tall and big the man was, it was safe to assume he was pretty burly. Just then, right in front of the man, Mikel teleported in and the man stepped forward to meet him. "Ah, King Lorevix," Mikel said to the man. "It's good to see you're still with us." The man that Mikel called King Lorevix replied, "So, Master Mikel, how does things stand with the imperial army and the Elite Six?" Mikel then answered his question saying, "They've proven to be more of a challenge than the rulers of Magvel anticipated, but they've managed to earn victory against each attack set against them. Just recently, both Damon and Phyllis lost to the Twins' forces. Since she told me they were starting to suspect me, Victoria has taken care to eliminate them."

Lorevix's only response was, "I see..." "However," Mikel continued. "Even though the Magvelian soldiers were working for me, they'll at least never know that it was actually you who allowed the attack to happen to your own continent." "Bah," said Lorevix. "It wouldn't matter if they knew of my treachery. Their loyalty to me is blind and the chivalry they practice is dead to me. I'm embracing the future, and dead arts are nothing to me. I will become king of something even greater. The Elite Six can never understand that. Even more so for my oldest son, Otarus. Only beings that are capable of such greatness will be allowed in my kingdom. Nay, my utopia." Mikel then replied, "Yes, for a mere human, you are definitely wise enough to understand just what needs to happen, and you don't let weaknesses like compassion and empathy get to you. I'll make sure your dream comes true. You are much more deserving of something more worthwhile than the shallowness you've been forced to rule over." Lorevix then responded, "Yes, and I shall lead it with the utmost skill and determination."

"Oh, by the way," Mikel said as he remembered something to tell the King. "How's that special wyvern I created for you? You know, I went through a lot of experimentation to create a wyvern strong enough to withstand arrows and wind magic, as well as dragon killing weapons. I hope it's been very beneficial for you." Lorevix smiled then said to him, "The wyvern is great. It's strength and agility is second to none. He's perfect for a man who's very nature was born from the battlefield, such as myself. The training I undertook while riding it proves that fact very well." "That's good," said Mikel with a pleased look. "Of course, because I used special powers to create it, you'll need to watch out for Sacred Twin items from each of Magvel's nations if you're to fight her armies." Lorevix just chuckled deeply and said, "It won't matter. I possess two of the greatest treasures of Serris: the great sword, Ambition, and the mighty axe, Nanbanfu. With them, even the Sacred Twins do not frighten me. With them, I'll kill anyone who tries to even touch me with one of those weapons. Speaking of our treasures, the enchantments you placed to strengthen the other treasures has proven most wonderful. All of them have shown to be most affective." "All of them," asked Mikel and Lorevix replied, "Yes, all of them. Rienfleche, Basilikos, Excelsior, Dreadnought, Salamander, Mijonir, Luce and Gespenst. The enhancements you gave them make our soldiers even more lethal than before." Mikel's pleased look grew bigger as he said, "Perfect. Even if the Twins' forces manage to defeat all of the Elite Six, we'll show them they still have even more to fear than just them, and our plans will come closer to fruition. A new world will be born!"

After managing to pass through Caer Pelyn unhindered, the twins decided to set up camp in Hamill Canyon. While most of everyone was going about their tasks, which varied from person to person, Rizo was busy talking with Nemo in a secluded area of the canyon. "So, narf," Rizo started off saying to him. "I'm surprised you were able to keep your identity hidden while we were fighting Phyllis and Damon, nurf!" Nemo replied, "Yes, I am, as well. Just had to keep my distance," and Rizo responded to him asking, "So, when are you going to reveal to the troupe that you're the younger Prince of Serris, narrf?" "I will soon, though I've already revealed it to Princess L'arachel, but she's managed to keep my secret even from her own vassals. I'll tell them when we get to Rausten. At least, that's what I'm hoping the plan will be, especially since my brother, Otarus is waiting for us there. What about you, Rizo? When will you reveal your secret to the Magvel royals?" "Narf, maybe I too will wait until we get to Rausten," Rizo answered. Still, I have to say, nearf nrf, it's surprising you would take up arms against fellow Serrisians. You're a lot bolder than the meek and compassionate monk you made yourself out to be, narf!" Nemo then said back to him, "They're just the imperial army. They're loyal only to my father who commands more military respect than even my own brother. We're really nothing in their eyes. So much so, my brother formed his own military force to prove his worthiness as a warrior and leader." "Yes," Rizo responded. "His squad may not be anywhere as grand as in the imperial army, but they're a fine group soldiers, nonetheless, narf narf!" Nemo then said, "Well, here's to staying alive till we can get to Rausten." "Indeed, narff," Rizo said back to him.

Meanwhile, Ephraim was sparring with Kyle, Forde, Franz and Amelia using practice lances while Eirika was sparring with Joshua, Marisa, Colm and Gerik using training swords. On Ephraim's side, Amelia tried to make a charge for Ephraim, but he dodge out of the way and hit her in the back with his lance, knocking her to the ground. "Next," he said in pumped tone. Forde then charged for Ephraim and brought his lance down to strike Ephraim, but it was blocked and knocked away by him before belting Forde in the stomach. As Forde was knocked to the ground, both Kyle and Franz made a charge for Ephraim as they put up a valiant effort, but were defeated by the skilled prince. On Eirika's side, Eirika was a having a tougher time, but was still holding her own. She managed to disarm both Marisa and Colm, though Joshua and Gerik gave her a greater challenge with their more skilled sword arms. Eventually, her fencing style won out, and she managed to disarm the two guys. "Guess I earned my dignity back from my fight with Damon," Eirika said and Gerik replied, "You certainly have. I know that had to be both scary and embarrassing for you when you got defeated by that man." Eirika smiled for a bit, but then dropped her sword down by her side and put on a solemn look. "Something wrong, Eirika," Joshua asked her and she said, "I'm still thinking about Seth and hoping he's okay. This spar we had... it reminded me of the training that I went through with him to get me better in the sword." Tethys, who was watching the sparring, stepped up and walked over to say to Eirika, "Oh, what I wouldn't do to find a man just like General Seth. A princess and her noble knight falling in love. It's like a fairytale romance come true." "I just hope it won't stay one," Eirika replied. "Seth has been away for so long, it's building up so many emotions inside of me that I'm about to burst. But, I guess the anticipation makes it better, just as long as Seth is okay. Gilliam and Moulder did say he was traveling with these people called the White Knights. I'm more and more curious about meeting them, and seeing what kind of people they are." Tana, who was also watching, then said to Eirika, "You know, now that I remember our meeting with General Seth, I think I saw Cormag among them." "Really," Gerik asked. "It's been so long since we saw him, I thought he vanished." Amelia, overhearing this, said, "General Duessel and I also saw Cormag with them. He looked pretty neat in his white armor." "Guess he must have found something new worth fighting for after losing his brother to that madman, Valter." Eirika trembled before Valter's name and said, "I hope I never meet that man again," and Ephraim remarked, "Yeah, may that lunatic stay dead." Just then, General Duessel, who had been surveying the area, rode in with great haste, and shouted, "We have trouble, everyone!" "Is it the Elite Six again," asked Ephraim and Eirika followed up with, "More monsters?" "Neither," Duessel said. "It's bandits. They've got a young woman trapped. Of course, she might be one of the Elite Six. When I came there, the men that were with her turned into purple dust when the bandits killed them." Ephraim then said, "I guess we can assume these bandits are not connected with Mikel, but we can always find out. Let's get everyone ready an able."

As Ephraim and Eirika's troupe was readying to move out, two large Warriors had a Valkyrie backed into a corner. That Valkyrie turned out to be Molly. The two Warriors were unique-looking individuals with one wearing red and the other wearing blue. "Ooh, she's a pretty one, isn't she, Paul," said the Warrior in red and the Warrior in blue replied, "Oh yes, a very pretty one, Jasmine. I wonder if she turns into that purple dust that her friends turned into when we killed them?" Jasmine then said, "But that would be a waste, brother. We could have more fun with her than that, couldn't we?" "Oh yes, we could, dear brother. You're so smart," responded Paul. Molly then said as she was very scared right now, "How did pull off an attack like that? We were trained to be a professional army, yet you murdered my troops like it was nothing." "Oh, she wants to know how we did it. Aren't you flattered, Jasmine," Paul asked and Jasmine answered, "Yes, I am, Paul. I'm so flattered, I could cry." Paul then replied, "I know, the emotions are building up. It's so great when people acknowledge our work." Jasmine then came up to say to Molly, "We're bandits that now control this land. No body goes through here without getting a visit from us." "Oh yes, we love to loot and plunder anyone we think has valuables with them, and your forces look very enticing." Molly then put on a defensive look and said, "You're nothing but evil men! I was sent here to Magvel to dispose of such devils! I am Molly of the Guiding Light, a Sister of Heavens in the Elite Six of Serris' imperial army! You're going to pay for what you did to my troops!" "Oh," said Paul pretending to be hurt. "Did you hear the awful things she said, brother." Jasmine replied also trying to look the part, "Yes, she said we were evil. She called us devils. She's so very bad." "Very bad, indeed," Paul remarked. "We're sensitive creatures. You can't trifle with our emotions like that. Oh, the pain is too much." "You, too, Paul," asked Jasmine and Paul asked back, "You, as well, Jasmine?" Jasmine replied, "Yes, it's too much for my heart. And we were going to let you live." "Do your worst," snapped Molly.

After Paul and Jasmine left her and summoned their other men to come out and take over the area to surround Molly, the Twins and their forces arrived in time. "Alright," Ephraim began to command the troupe. "Let's drive these bandits out!" Eirika looked around the place and said, "Look at all the purple dust that on the ground! This must have been a massacre!" "No time to think about that now. We just better hope that woman that Duessel saw is okay." Vanessa, who was high up in the air trying to locate Molly, shouted out, "I think I can see her! She's about forty clicks to the north! She actually seems to be holding her own, right now." Molly was blasting oncoming Snipers and Druids with blast of Corona, which not only damaged the bandits but also blinded them as their accuracy of hitting Molly was reduced. Ephraim's forces moved out to help Molly. Innes, Neimi and Vash, who was now a Sniper thanks to the Orion's Bolt, shot down a wave of Wyvern Lords and Falcoknights. Ross, Rizo, Dozla and Simon brought their axes against some Halberdiers while Ephraim, Clark, Tana and Vanessa dealt with the Heroes. Franz, Forde, Kyle, Gilliam, Duessel, Jules and Amelia dealt with the Paladins and Great Knights, while Saleh, Lute, L'arachel and Sky used their Anima spells to stop the Bishops. Knoll and Madison used their Dark Magic on the Sages, and Artur, Natasha, Moulder and Nemo brought their Light Magic against the Druids, while Eirika, Gerik, Marisa, Joshua and Colm took care of the Rangers. Samantha and Trip took care of any stragglers that were merely weakened. Rennac went around stealing any treasures he could from the foes before they were defeated, which netted him a White Gem, a Secret Book and a Goddess Icon. Soon, more reinforcements were coming in, such as Berserker and a couple of Brigands from the mountains, Wyvern Lords from where Paul and Jasmine were, and a Paladin, a Great Knight and three Cavaliers from the southeast. A Swordmaster and a Hero appeared near where Molly was, making her stand by to take care of them.

Seeing the place was a little more thinned out, Jules decided to go help Molly while Tana and Vanessa went to deal with the Berserker and Brigands so they wouldn't interfere. Just then, from the southeast, Ewan appeared. He looked around the place and said, "Phew, good things Ephraim's group came in time to deal with these bandits. I didn't think I'd get away from them when they were chasing me. It's time I joined up with them and exact a little payback on those bandits for cutting off my path to Jehanna." The little Summoner then traveled northward until he saw Saleh in a magic battle with another Sage as they were both trying to hit the other with Elthunder. Seeing as the battle was pretty equal and knowing to help his teacher, Ewan conjured a blast of Elflux to hit the enemy Sage in the back. As it did, his concentration was broken and Saleh's Elthunder hit the enemy Sage, electrocuting him severely before he collapsed. "Master Saleh," Ewan called out and Saleh replied, "Ewan?" Ewan reached Saleh, who continued on to say, "Ewan, why are you here?" "Well," Ewan began to explain. "I was actually on my way to Jehanna to recruit anyone to join Gerik's mercenaries, but... I ran into these bandits and they chased me down. I was too frightened to fight them off by myself, so I ran and hid." Saleh just sighed and said, "At least you're safe, so that's good to know. Anyway, I guess you can help us out now since there's more of us to protect you, but be careful, as well." "I know," said Ewan as he smiled. Saleh followed up with, "And, Ewan?" "What," asked Ewan which Saleh responded with, "Thank you for helping me." Ewan then said, "You're my teacher, and there was no way I was going to let you get defeated like that. Anyway, I'm off to help the troupe." And with that, Ewan joined up with their forces as he went off to aid the others.

He saw Sky, Madison and Rizo were dealing with some Wyvern Lords, but were having a tough time. Knowing to help, Ewan pulled out a tome that appeared to be one of Dark Magic but was different from other dark tomes familiar to most magic users. Madison was trying to hit one of the Wyvern Lords with a Fire spell, but he dodged it and was about to impale Madison with his lance. Before Sky could get to her in time, the Wyvern Lord was hit with a symbol that eventually turned him and his wyvern into stone. The other Wyvern Lord saw what happened then turned to see Ewan, who then yelled out, "MEDUSA!" The other Wyvern Lord and his steed were turned into stone. Sky, Madison and Rizo saw it happen, then they turned to see Ewan. Sky just put on an angered look, but Madison was happy to see him as she called out to him, "Ewan! Thanks for the help." "No problem, Madi," Ewan said back to her. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt." Ewan then turned to see Sky, who was still not very happy to see him, and he made a nervous laughter before saying, "He... hey, Sky. See you're looking stronger, now," and Sky said, "I knew it! It was only a matter of time before you'd come in and try to steal the spotlight from me again!" "Sky," Madison yelled out to him. "There's no time for that, now!" Sky just snorted and Madison continued on to say, "It's good to see you, again, Ewan, but what was that spell you just used?" "Oh that," asked Ewan. "That was Medusa, and just like the creature of legend itself, it turns what ever it touches into stone. "Huh, well I'll be, narf," said Rizo as he knocked on the statue to see they really were stone. "That's some sure fancy spellwork. Guess we'd better take care of these guys, before it wears off, though, nrf nurf." The rat-faced Berserker then destroyed the petrified Wyvern Lords until they were just gravel. Madison continued to talk again. "Well, while we have a lot to talk about, we do need some extra hands for this battle," she said and Ewan replied, "That's why I'm here, and I'm ready to assist! Let's go!" Madison, Rizo and Ewan went on to finish the fight. "Just don't make things difficult for me," said Sky under his breath before he rode after them.

Molly was continuing to fight off bandit after bandit, but the injuries she was suffering were beginning to become too much. "These bandits are tough. No matter how many I manage to defeat, they still come. My magic isn't enough to keep me alive." Just then, Jules flew down near her. Molly heard him, and she panicked. "Are you another bandit," she asked and Jules replied, "No, we're fighting them too. I'm under the command of Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika." "Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika," Molly said in a panicky tone, again. "But, that's even worse! I'm supposed to stop them and the other rulers of Magvel! That means you're still my enemy!" Jules then said, "Well, if that's how it is, I'll leave these bandits to you. See you around." Molly thought hard about it for a moment, and then said, "Wait! I do need your help. I can't fight them on my own like I thought I could. The ambush I was setting up for your troupe got demolished by them, and I'm on my last leg. Please, if you truly aren't evil like Mikel said you were, then take me with you." Jules smiled and said, "You made the right choice. Here, hop on and I'll have Gustov here carry your horse." Molly replied, "Thank you, Sir, uh..." "Jules," the Wyvern Lord said. "And don't worry about formalities with me. Jules will be just fine." Molly then got on the back of Gustov, who then came up and picked up Molly's horse with its four big paws on the sides. They then flew off in the direction of where Twins' company had come from.

After dealing with the remaining reinforcements, it was time to take care of Paul and Jasmine. Ewan decided the best thing to do would be to lure them out, so he summoned a Phantom to do just that. Ewan then commanded the Phantom to go over to where the two Warriors were. While Ewan's Phantom was doing that, Ephraim took one group with him consisting of Ross, Simon, Gerik, Gilliam, Forde and Duessel to flank the enemy from the right. Eirika took another group with her consisting of Rizo, Kyle, Franz, Amelia and Marisa to flank them from them left. The rest went down the middle to follow after Ewan's Phantom, though very slowly. Jasmine saw the Phantom coming towards him and threw his Hand Axe at it. The Phantom dodged the attack and retaliated by throwing its Tomahawk, but the attacked missed Jasmine by a hair. Jasmine, arming himself with his Steel Axe, and the Phantom then got into an axe fight. Though the Phantom fought valiantly, he was defeated and faded into nothingness. As Jasmine got perplexed by this, Forde rushed up to attack Jasmine. He managed to rolled out of the way, but not without receiving a cut from Forde's blade on his shoulder. Duessel, Gilliam and Gerik backed up Forde with their own blade strikes. Jasmine blocked them, but it left him open for a couple of arrows from Ross and Simon's bows. The arrows hit him on the side, but Jasmine shook it off and pressed forward. Paul saw his brother was in trouble and was about to go help, but he was interrupted by Eirika rushing for him. He managed to block her Rapier in time, but was forced to move when he saw Rizo making a jumping axe strike. Kyle, Franz, Marisa and Amelia rushed in with their swords ready. Paul did his best to fight them off, but they were becoming too tenacious. Afterwards, the others arrived. The magic users were able to blasts both Warriors with a combined assault while Innes, Vash, Clark and Neimi shot arrows at various points of their bodies. The Warriors were still putting up a fight though, eventhough they were near death. Samantha took her Axereaver and disarmed Jasmine of his Steel Axe before stabbing him in the chest. After she pulled her lance out of him, Jasmine stumbled back and said, "I got hit, but it feels good... These people are too strong, Paul." And with that, Jasmine was dead. Finally, it was down to Paul, who was still proving skilled with his Killer Axe. Trip decided he wanted to finish him off. With Paul very weak, Trip did a spinning, horizontal slash across Paul chest. The blood loss was too much for him, and he said in his dying breath, "I can't believe we lost, Brother... Aah... it's a tragedy, Jasmine." Both Warriors were dead, thus allowing the heroes to win against the bandits. "That takes care of that. Let's head back to camp. I believe we need to have a talk with that woman."

Back at the camp, the future rulers of Magvel were talking with Molly. "So," Ephraim started off to say. "You ARE one of the Elite Six." Molly replied, "Yes. My title is Molly of the Guiding Light." "And let me guess," Innes came in to say. "You were sent here to 'punish' us for something we didn't do." "That's correct," answered Molly. "Though I will admit that I've had questions about this whole thing. Your soldiers do wear the same armor as the ones that attacked us, but... as I saw the places I traveled to, it didn't look like your people were readying themselves for a war. In fact, it seems everyone too busy to even fight in a war." Tana then said, "That's what we've been trying to tell all of you. We're spending most of our energy trying to restore our continent after our fight with the Demon King. All of Magvel's armies are much weaker than what they used to be." Joshua followed in with, "And besides, you haven't done anything to warrant us attacking you. All we've wanted to do is live in peace. So, basically, you're attacking us for no reason, just like you claimed we were doing." Molly went silent for a moment, then said, "I know... and the dust that my troops turned into when they were killed by those bandits. It's the same kind that the few soldiers we were able to kill became. I know that Mikel is just using me, now. Nothing can change that fact, and yet..." "You still want to fight for the Elite Six, is that right," asked Ephraim, too which Molly answered, "Yes, I still want to fight, and not just for the ideals we stood for, or the continent that is my home. But, also... for the man I love who is also one of us. At least... I love him. I just haven't been able to tell him." "Ah, fighting for romance, I see," L'arachel said with a smile. "That's certainly just as respectable as fighting for your homeland. But still, the man who revived you is using you and is nothing more than an insane Alchemist. You would do better fight along side us." Eirika chimed in to say, "L'arachel is right. And who knows? Maybe joining with us, you can get the remaining members of the Elite Six to join, as well. Please, Molly, will you lend us your skill?" Molly was silent again, but then said, "I really want to continue fighting for my home, but... if I continue to be used and deceived by that man for purposes I don't understand or stand opposed to, then I'm no better than the people I wanted to stop. I suppose I must join you if I'm to truly redeem myself of any and all sins. That settles it, I'm joining you. Your rescuing of me has proven you are very chivalrous, and that's an ideal I still want to believe in." "Welcome to our troop, then, Molly," said Ephraim with a warm grin.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 18


	19. Chapter 18: The Stone Giant

**Chapter 18: The Stone Giant**

The Twins and their troupe, along with their new ally, Molly, made their way through Hamill Canyon, and made it back to Jehanna. They settled down in the small town of Durbin, but little did they know, Mikel already had more surprises waiting for them. Natasha, in the meantime, still had a look of worry as she was still thinking about the thing Mikel told her to do, as she knew they were coming closer to Rausten.

It's nighttime in Durbin, and Natasha is outside looking at the full moon. She then begins to talk to herself saying, "There's no way I can tell them all the truth. I want to, but... I'm afraid. They all trust me so much, especially Joshua. Besides, what if that order that was made in Rausten so long ago still holds up? I'm finally repenting for everything I did. I don't want everything to come crashing down around me, so suddenly. Oh, blessed Saint Latona, what should I do?"

Just then, Natasha heard footsteps behind her. "Mikel," asked a startled Natasha. She then looked around quickly, and saw that it was Molly coming up behind her as she replied back to Natasha saying, "No, I'm not Mikel. What made you think I was?" "Oh, nothing," Natasha said as she laughed a little nervously. "I just panicked, that's all. You're the woman that joined with us after we dealt with those bandits." "That's right," said Molly. "I guess I never introduced myself to you. My name is Molly. I was one of the Elite Six of Serris, but I decided to join your troupe."

Natasha then responded, "Well met, Molly. I'm Natasha. I used to serve Grado, but now, I've decided to become fiance to Prince Joshua." "Wow, you must be lucky," Molly followed up with. "I really like your company. It's so warm and friendly. It reminds me a great deal of the people I was around in Serris' army, even if Damon did kind of scare me with his temper-tantrums. You're all so much different from what Mikel told me you all were."

"So, how did you and the Elite Six come to know Mikel," Natasha asked. Molly went silent for a few seconds and said, "He saved our lives. At least, that's what he told us." Natasha then remarked, "I see, but could you give me some finer details? What did he do that saved you?" "I guess I could," answered Molly. "After fighting the Magvelian soldiers that might have been revived through the same means, and doing the best we could, we were all severely wounded and pouring out blood. Not even the most potent healing staves could save us in time. You could say we literally died, or were close to it."

Natasha then responded, "So, in a way, you really are dead?" "Even as I'm walking and breathing, I know the life I have is artificial, so I guess you could say I am a walking dead person," answered the solemn Valkyrie. "The last thing I remember after almost leaving this world was waking up on a slab, naked and covered by a sheet. I sat up and looked around to see the same thing had happened with the other five of us, though they were still unconscious. I then saw Mikel come in, and he said to me, 'So, you're the first to be awake. Don't be alarmed, I have rescued you from death. You now have an item inside of you that gives you new life and greater power. I hope you will use it well, since you now owe it to me.' He then left the room, and after that, I looked down to see a purple glow coming from my chest. I then laid back down, contemplating what I'd been through and what was inside me, keeping me alive."

Natasha then asked, "He put something inside of you? What do you think it was?" "I'm not sure," answered Molly. "He never told us what it was, exactly. But, seeing as my men turned into that same dust your own soldiers turned into, I know he did the same with them. The fact they turned into it is not normal, and it's never happened before with any of us or people we fought and defeated." "I know," agreed Natasha. "Whatever Mikel has put inside of you that gives you life, it must be what turns a person's body to dust when they die, or rather, die again."

"That's what I'm starting to think as well," Molly said, agreeing with Natasha, as well. "By the way, since you asked me about him, how do you know Mikel, Natasha?" Natasha stammered as she said, "Me? Uh... well, uh... he was a... well, used to be a... friend of mine." "Really," replied Molly. "He never spoke of you to us. How long did you and he used to be friends?" Natasha got nervous, but then said, "For a long time. That's all I can tell you." Molly then asked, "No details from you, or anything? No juicy little secrets you wish to tell me?" "I'm afraid not," Natasha answered. "It's not that I don't want to tell, it's just very painful for me to do so." Molly then said, "Well, that's okay. You don't have to tell me. Whatever it is, it can wait."

"Yes, it may have to wait for a long time," Natasha said as to avoid discussion. Molly then said, "You know, Natasha, you're a good person. Of course, I think you're all good people now that I've gotten to know your group better. But you, well... I think I can trust you the most of anyone here. I don't know why. You've just got this glow about you. Maybe it's just from how beautiful you are. The other females in our group aren't terrible looking, either, but to me, you just radiate the most. And don't worry if you think this is a pass towards you. There's already someone I'm deeply in love with. I'm mostly wishing I had your looks since I've tried to have him notice me for my actions."

Natasha said to her in a reassuring tone, "Don't sell yourself short, Molly. You've got quite a sense of grace about you. I'm pretty sure you've been noticed by several men, yourself." "I have been," answered Molly. "But, the one I'm after is truly special to me. He's more than just handsome. He's also noble, caring and very stalwart. He's the kind of man my parents always wanted me to end up with. The only thing is you all may have to fight him if things don't go well, since he is one of the Elite Six like I am, or was, rather."

"That does seem like a problem," said Natasha. "Don't worry, though, maybe if he sees you with us and you're able to explain everything to him, he might join us as well. Don't lose hope, okay?" Molly then replied, "I won't, and you don't lose hope either." "I won't," said Natasha.

Just then, the two of them heard footsteps coming towards them. Natasha get startled again, and says, "Mikel? Is that you now?" The person comes into view and it turns out to be Ewan. "No, it's just me." Natasha puts on a relieved look and says, "Oh, Ewan, you had me going there for a second. What are you doing out here so late, anyway?" "I thought I told you all," Ewan said to her. "I was looking for volunteers to join Gerik's mercenary guild." "How's that going," asked Molly and Ewan answered, "Better than I thought. I didn't think anyone would take me seriously since I'm so young, but the fact they've heard the name of Gerik made them want to join."

Natasha then said, "That's good. It'll be nice to have more help. Anyway, you should probably get to bed since it is quite late." Ewan replied, "Hey, don't treat me like a kid. I'm now a full-fledged Dark Mage, so I can determine for myself when to go to bed." Just then, Ewan yawned and began to look sleepy, then said, "But, I guess I will go on to bed." This just made Molly giggle. As Ewan headed to sleep, he turned back around to face Natasha and said, "You know, Natasha, the others are right about you being jumpy. I wonder why that is?"

Natasha just put on a look of nervousness without saying anything, then Ewan said, "Well, you two don't stay out here too long, either. Desert nights can take their toll on a person." After that, Ewan went inside. After he was gone, Molly said, "I think I'll go to bed, as well. It was nice talking with you, Natasha. Maybe we should do it another time." Natasha said to that, "Yeah, I think I would like that." "Good night... friend," Molly said and she headed off. As she was out of sight, Natasha turned back to face the moon, and just sighed as she was worried about the trust she now had received from Molly, as well as the trust she had with the others, especially Joshua, would be broken for some reason.

After morning came, the group decided spend a little time in Durbin to get ready for what was left of their journey to Rausten. While most were buying supplies for their caravan, some of them were doing some training at the arena to hone their skills and earn a little extra money, most notably Nemo, Trip and Samantha, while Richard stood by to heal them. As everyone was done tending to business, they all gathered in the forum to discuss what to do next. "Alright, I guess our next location should be to cross Narube River," Innes said. "Once we do that, Rausten will only be a few days away."

Ephraim responded, "Sounds good, but that's assuming we don't run into any of Mikel's forces while doing so." "What about Jehanna's Sacred Twins, Audhulma and Excalibur," asked Eirika. "Shouldn't we see about getting them? Durbin isn't too far away from the capital city of Jehanna." Joshua then came in to reply, "Don't worry about them. I sent a pegasus knight out to Jehanna Hall to retrieve them. She should be back before we're ready leave. I also gave her our Member Card and Silver Card to pick up a few items from the Secret Shop. Figured we had a few people in our troop ready for promotion."

"Well, as long as she isn't gone too long," said Ephraim. "Because we do need to head out as soon as possible before Rausten suffers an attack." Joshua added to this saying, "Yeah, Rausten is important, but right now, and I hope I don't sound selfish for saying this, I'm really more worried about Natasha. Every time I try to be near her, she just acts more distant than the last time. Course, truth be told, she did act a little funny before this series of events." "You've got my curiosity piqued," said Innes. "What happened between you two?"

Joshua just gave Innes a glare, then said, "Well, you see... I bought her this nice, backless dress for her that I thought she would look good in, but she refused to wear it, claiming she was too embarrased to do so. Funny thing is, I think she liked it when I first showed it to her, but got defensive when I wanted her to wear it." Innes' reply was, "Interesting." "Innes, I don't think that Natasha refusing to wear a dress has anything to do with her attitude right now," said Eirika, then Joshua followed up with saying, "Actually, I think it does. Natasha also refuses to have people help bathe her, she wants to change clothes and undress alone. We've never even made love. I know I'm not the guy to pry into a woman's past, but with her being this way, I'm very concerned."

Innes then crossed his arms and said, "It's obvious she's hiding something. Add to that the fact she used to be friends with Mikel, and is now acting so worried especially when we're getting close to Rausten? It's all starting to add up, but to what, I still don't know. We should probably have one strip search her to find out what she's hiding." "You even do it," yelled Joshua in an angry tone. "And I'll slice your head off!" Innes then yelled back to Joshua, "Is that a threat!" "That's a promise," responded Joshua and Innes said angrily, "I hope you can deliver on it," and Joshua said back to him, "Oh, I will!" Innes readied his bow and Joshua did the same with his sword.

Just before the two could attack one another, Tana jumped in the middle of them, holding her hands out to block them, which made them withdraw their weapons, and said, "Stop it, both of you! You're acting worse than children! Joshua, Innes is right in that Natasha does need to tell us what she's hiding." "See," smirked Innes to Joshua, but then Tana said to him, "But, Brother, we still need to give Natasha her space and allow her ample time to tell us. Forcing it out of her will only make things worse."

"Well, if we're done trying to kill each other," Ephraim started to say. "I think it's best we got back to the main topic at hand." Just then, Colm appeared next to him, and said, "I think we have another problem." Eirika asked, "What is it," and Colm replied, "I think we have someone spying on us." Colm then nodded his head to his right, and the others looked in his direction to see a person behind a house looking at them. She then saw them seeing her from the distance and went back fully behind the house to hide. It turned out it was Clover as she said with her back to the wall, "On no, they spotted me. I didn't think they would. I better high-tail it out of here." She then began to run.

"Do you think they were with the enemy," asked L'arachel and Ephraim said, "One way to find out. Let's all spread out and try to find that person. Shout when you do." And with that, they all spread out to search for Clover. Each person began searching, but never managed to find her. Each person of the troupe was looking their hardest around town, but Clover was proving too slippery for them, despite Durbin not being very big. After a bit of searching, Simon caught a glimpse of her running, and as he did, he began to formulate a plan in his head on how to catch her.

Clover then ran into another ally, and then came out of it. As she saw a safe spot to hide in, she began to run for it. But, before she could reach it, she was caught and lifted up by her collar by someone's big hand, which turned out to belong to Simon. Clover struggled as she was flailing her arms and legs around in hopes of getting lose from the black Warrior's grip, and said, "Let go of me! I've had enough people grabbing me from there!" "I found her," Simon yelled out to get the attention of the others.

As the others arrived, Clover continued to struggle as she shouted, "I said let go of me! If you don't put me down right now, I'll give you what for!" Ephraim then came up to say as he saw her, "She's just a little girl." "I heard that," yelled Clover. Simon then spun her around so everyone could see her face. She then looked at Simon looking at her and said, "What are you looking at, oaf?" "I'm looking at the girl I caught." Clover just snorted then said, "It was a rhetorical question." Gerik put his right hand on his side and said, "Someone's got an attitude problem." Hearing that, Clover made a face at Gerik, which consisted of her sticking her tongue out while pulling down the skin under her left eye with her left index finger. This just angered Gerik, making his right eye twitch, which was quite a feat since Gerik wasn't one to be easily angered.

"Who are you, and why were you spying on us," asked Innes forcefully, but Clover just turned her head away and said, "I'm not telling. You're all a bunch of jerks." This just made Innes cross, while Rizo said under his breath, "She's a cute one, but her personality stinks, narf." Ephraim then asked in an also forceful tone, "Are you with the enemy?" "Depends on what you mean by enemy," Clover said with a smirk. "And if I was, what good would it do you to kill me? I'm just a little girl. What threat am I to all of you?"

Ephraim then said, "We don't plan to kill you, but you will tell us why you were spying on us, and seeing as we have you caught, you don't have a lot of options." Clover just crossed her arms, turned her head away and said, "Well, forget it. Unless you pay me, I'm not singing." "We're not paying you a thing! Wow, Ephraim, I'm inches away from wanting to slap her," said Innes with a real look of anger. Ross then said while grinding his fist into his hand, "I know Dad told me not to hit girls, but man, she is so asking for it." Amelia just tapped on the arm with the back of her hand, and Ross said to her, "Well, she is."

"Besides," Clover then started to say with a smug look. "Do you think you should be worrying about me when my friends are after you?" This got everyone's attention as Ephraim asked her, "What friends?" Just then, everyone heard the people crying, "MONSTERS," and Clover said with an even bigger smile, "That would be them." As everyone saw the people running past them, they then saw an army of monsters come into town, which consisted of Lizardmen, Lizard Demons, Lizard Archers, Komodo Archers, Minotaurs, Maulotaurs, Wolfmen, Dire Wolfmen, Succubi and their more powerful variations, the Night Queens, Skull Wizards and the more powerful Death Wizards, Ogres and the more powerful Trolls, and even a few Jokers.

Despite having so many variations of monsters, the army wasn't quite as big as the one they fought last time. "Pay no mind to these civilians," said a Maulotaur. "Let's just focus on the rulers and their company." a Dire Wolfman came up to the Maulotaur and asked him, "So should we advance on them?" "No," the Maulotaur replied. "Let them come to us. Besides, that way, they'll be closer to where we can bring out our special surprise. Alright, to battlestations!" The monsters then moved out, occupying various spots in the town to wait for the gang's arrival.

"They're not advancing on us," said Ephraim curiously. "Why is that?" Clover then said, "If I remember correctly, they said they had something planned for you." "Planned for us," asked Tana and Clover then looked back at them and said, "So, what will you do, now? If you continue to focus on me, innocent people might get hurt. And you wouldn't want that, would you?" "That does it," scowled Innes. "Prepare yourself!" Just as Innes was about to slap Clover, Marisa stopped and said, "Stay your hand, Prince." Innes said to her, "But, Marisa..." Marisa then walked up to Clover, faced her and said, "Allow me." She then slapped Clover across the face, hard.

Everyone got shocked by this, especially Gerik, Tethys, Ewan, Joshua, and Natasha, though Innes was relieved. Clover had a shocked look on her face, but then it turned to anger, then she looked at Marisa and yelled at her, "You just try that again!" Marisa slapped her again, which made Clover even more shocked as she didn't think Marisa would do it. She turned her head back around with a disgruntled look on her face while rubbing the side and said, "You know, you can slap me all you want. I've been treated WAY worse, so that's nothing to me."

"You mean by Mikel," said Ephraim. "Since you led the monsters here, you must work for him. And by that tone, you really don't like it, do you?" Clover then replied, "Of course, I don't like working for him. He's bossy, he mistreats me and even threatens me. Then again, he's that way towards all humans, but with me, I think it's far worse. All I am to him is his personal spy." "Well, if that's the case, join with us," said Ephraim. "You'll find us to be a lot better than Mikel. We won't mistreat you or anything." Clover just snorted and said, "Kind of too late when your pink-haired friend here slapped me."

Hearing that, Eirika stepped up in front of Clover and said with a look of kindness in her face, "I'll apologize for Marisa's actions, but please, will you join with us? If you come to regret working for Mikel, then fight for us. We could definitely use your help." Clover looked at Eirika's face and was entranced by the kind look in her eyes, as well as her overall beauty, and she thought to herself, "Who could say no to a face like that?" After that, she said, "Okay, I'll join with you," but then she put on a tough look again and said, "But don't think I'm doing it because I like you or anything." Eirika just continued to smile and said, "Thank you. Simon, put her down." "As you say, milady," Simon said and then put Clover down.

"By the way," Eirika said. "We never got your name. Would you tell us?" Clover paused for a moment, then said, "What makes you think I have a name?" "Please," asked Eirika once again with that very kind face, which entranced Clover further and she said, "It's... Clover." After that, she turned her head away again and said, "There, are you satisfied?" Eirika just smiled said, "Yes, thank you."

After all that was over, the company looked at all the monsters that were patiently waiting for them to arrive, then Ephraim said, "Alright, so how do we go about this? Clover said they were planning something for us, so if we advance on them, they're sure to bring it out." Ewan then came up to Ephraim and asked, "Why don't I summon something for us to battle them and lure whatever it is they got in store for us out of hiding?" "Sounds good," said Ephraim. "But I don't think Phantoms are going to work that well against these types of monsters."

"I'm not talking about Phantoms," said Ewan. "Check this out!" Ewan then pulled out a scroll and showed it to them. "A scroll," asked Eirika and Ewan replied, "Yeah, it's a scroll of summoning. I can use this with my natural abilities as a Summoner to call forth a spirit even more powerful than Phantom, in both strength and durability." Saleh stepped forward and said to Ewan, "I've never heard of such things existing," and Ewan said while rubbing the back of head, "Well, truth be told, I kind of created it. And this is not the only one, I've created a few more." "You created them," said Saleh in an astonished tone. "Ewan, that's amazing! How did you do it?"

As Ewan was explaining, Sky said to himself in anger, "He's creating spells, now? It's amazing, but why him?" Lute then said to Artur, "Well, that definitely cuts into my natural superiority. I've got to find a way to up the scales to surpass that." After all the talking was done, Ewan then said, "Alright, stand back everyone! I summon you, Nefertiti, the angelic sphinx!" Ewan then unraveled the scroll and placed his right hand on the circle in the middle of it. Just then, the scroll began to shine and the light it gave off formed a magic cicle that laid on the ground. A column of light shot out of the circle, and out of the column emerged a creature with the body of a lion, the wings of an angel and the head of a woman. She was gold and white in coloration. She looked around, seeing all of the people who were just astonished by her, then she looked at Ewan, and said to him in a very angelic tone as she bowed her head to the young Summoner, "What is thy bidding, master?"

"You see those monsters, Nefertiti," asked Ewan as he pointed to them, which made the sphinx turn around to look at them. "They're our enemies. We need you to help us fight them, but be careful. According to our new friend, Clover, they have something ready for us. Also, try not to hurt any civilians or my friends." "Thou does not have to tell me not to hurt the innocent," said Nefertiti. "But thank you for caring. For that, thy bidding shall be carried out." Ephraim then stepped beside her, and said, "Alright, let's move out! Meet the enemy head on, but stay close so none of us gets completely overwhelmed by this secret weapon of theirs."

After that, the company, along with Nefertiti, met the monsters head on. Dealing with the Lizardmen and Lizard Demons were all the main sword-wielders, being Joshua, Marisa, Gerik, Eirika, Colm and Trip. Ross, Simon, Rizo and Dozla used their brute strength on the Minotaurs and Maulotaurs. The knights, being Franz, Forde, Kyle, Gilliam, Clark, Duessel, Amelia and Samantha, along with Ephraim, took care of the Wolfmen and Dire Wolfmen. Vash, Innes and Neimi used their bow arms to deal with the Lizard Archers and Komodo Archers. Saleh, Knoll, Ewan, Sky, Madison, L'arachel and Lute use their magic attacks against the Skull Wizards and Death Wizards, while Artur, Nemo and Natasha use theirs against the Succubi and Night Queens, along with the aid of Nefertiti who used her own light-based attacks. And Tana, Vanessa and Jules use their swift flight maneuvers to deal with the slow moving Ogres and Trolls.

As the fighting was going on, a female Wyvern Knight appeared from the north. She white hair that came just below her shoulders, very tanned skin, purple eyes and she wore black armor and clothes and a black headband. The armor had silver trim on it and the headband had silver designs. Even the wyvern she was riding was black. She saw the battle ensuing and said, "A battle? In town? People could get hurt. I can see monsters down there. Are those the same ones my sister has been fighting along side? I need to figure this whole thing out." She flew down to get a closer look, and has she did, she caught a glimpse of Ephraim and Eirika's crew, though her sight became fixated on Nemo. "Wait, is that Prince Nemo fighting? What's he doing here in such an unsavory environment," the Wyvern Knight asked herself. "I better go reach him before anything happens to him."

As the Wyvern Knight took off for Nemo's direction, a reinforcement of Giant Snakes and a stronger variation of them, called Basilisks, came out. A Giant Snake came up from behind Nemo, who was still busy fighting a Succubus, though he managed to knock her out. Just as the snake was about to bite him, a Spear impaled it right from the top of its head. Nemo looked behind himself to see the dead Giant Snake, then looked up to see the Wyvern Knight coming towards him. Once she got close enough for him to see her face, he was shocked to see who she was. "Alice," remarked Nemo. "What are you doing here?" Alice said to him, "I could ask you the same question, Prince Nemo."

"Shhhh... keep it down," Nemo said to her. "No one knows who I am, except for Rizo, who's been traveling with us." Alice looked surprised and asked, "The Rat is with you," and Nemo answered, "Yes, and my brother is waiting for us in Rausten. I'll explain everything when we get there. But what about you, Alice? What brings you here?" "I..." Alice started to say. "I heard my sister, Ingrid lives. Have you learned anything about this?" Nemo answered, "No, but I saw that Phyllis and Damon were alive. Even Molly is, and she fighting with us. If that's the case, we have to assume your sister is also alive, as well as Chester and Emanuel."

"If Ingrid is alive and has sided with these monsters, I have to find her and learn what's going on. And since you've found some new allies to fight with, I think I'll join you. Don't leave my sight, so I can protect you better," said Alice and Nemo replied, "Thank you, Alice, and it's good to be able to have you with us." And with that, the Monk and Wyvern Knight were off. Nefertiti fired a blast of light from her mouth at a group of Succubi and Night Queens from the sky. She saw Nemo and Alice deal with the Giant Snakes and Basilisks, and then created a symbol in front of her, which shot several lasers that cut and burned the snakes to death.

Alice and Nemo looked up to see Nefertiti smile down upon them. Alice was about ready to go attack her, but Nemo stopped her and said, "No, she's on our side." "Are you sure," asked Alice and Nemo replied, "Yes, a friend of ours actually summoned her to do battle." Alice then lowered her peace and waved thanks to Nefertiti, who then bowed her head back to Alice, and then flew off.

As the monsters' army became more and more whittled down, most of them retreated back to where they came from. "It's time," said the same Maulotaur. "Time that they faced the Golem!" The Maulotaur then pulled out a big horn and blew into it, making a deep but loud sound. The Maulotaur blew into the horn a few more times. "Guess he must be bringing out that surprise, now," Just then, everyone began to feel the ground rumble beneath them. Eirika asked as she was panicking, "What's making that horrible sound?" Just then, the rumbling started to make Clover worried as she said, "Oh no, they're not bringing THAT thing out, are they?"

Dozla then asked her, "What thing?" Just then, everyone looked forward and their eyes widened with great fear, for what they saw coming towards them appeared to be a giant soldier made completely of stone. It carried no weapons, but from how big its arms and legs were, it didn't need to. The giant looked down to see it's targets with it's glowing green eyes. "Oh, that thing," Forde responded meekly and he chuckled nervously. Lute then came up and said, "It's a Golem! A real Golem!" "You mean that thing made of stone," Artur asked her and she responded, "Yes. They're supposed to have destructive power when it comes to physical strength. We're going to be in for one tough battle here."

Ephraim then put on a determined look and said, "Okay, here's what we do. Tana, Vanessa, Jules, you encircle that Golem and try to get it confused, since I imagine it's pretty slow. Magic wielders, do your worst to it. Just go all out. Ross, Simon, Gerik, Rizo, Amelia, Dozla, I want you to use your axes to attack it's legs, and do it as hard as you can. If it can't move, it can't fight. The rest of us will take on the stragglers. Understood? Let's get to it then." Nemo then said to Alice, "Alice, join with the other fliers." "Don't have to tell me twice," she responded, and Ewan commanded Nefertiti to join along with them, as well. After that, they all charged in for the attack.

As Ephraim, Eirika and the others went to take care of what was left of the main force, the people Ephraim told to go attack Golem did just that. Ross led the other axe-wielders to attack the Golem's feet. Ross, Gerik and Dozla attacked the left foot, while Amelia, Simon and Rizo attacked the right. The magic-wielders all started firing spells at the Golem's chest, while Tana, Vanessa, Jules, Alice and Nefertiti circled around head and attacked it to keep it distracted. "This is going to take forever," said Simon. "The stone this guy is made of is almost impregnable." Rizo then replied, "Just keep at it, narf! We're bound to make some progress, eventually!"

"The stone is so dense," yelled Sky. "None of our attacks are making a crack." Saleh yelled back to him, "We just have to keep trying. It'll have to erode or be chipped sometime. If you see a chip in its skin, attack it." Seemingly unaffected by the attacks from the axe and magic wielders, the Golem was spending most of it's time trying to swat the fliers like bugs, but just then Amelia made split in it's skin with her axe after hitting a particular spot enough, and she said, "I broke through! Simon, Rizo, let's attack the split I just created!" Before they could, though, the Golem felt what happened and then tried to swipe at them with it's right hand. The three managed to dodge out of the way, but unfortunately for Amelia, she was in the Golem's line of sight. And when he saw her, he reared his right foot back and begun to swing it towards Amelia. The little General braced herself, and yelled, "NO!" The Golem then kicked Amelia hard in the front, sending her flying back and falling on her back with a great thud. Amelia then started to wail in pain.

Seeing what happened, Ewan yelled out, "Someone, help Amelia! I think she's hurt!" Hearing this and seeing what happened, Tana rushed in to save Amelia. As she landed her pegasus, Tana stepped off and picked up Amelia, then asked her, "Amelia, are you okay," too which Amelia responded, "No, I think my ribs are broken. Ow!" Tana then lifted Amelia onto her pegasus, then she got back on said, "Let's fly, Achaeus! We need to get Amelia to Richard," before taking off.

Meanwhile, back to during all the fighting, Dozla decided to attack the spot Amelia cracked on the Golem's foot, but it was becoming harder since the Golem had grown smarter and started stomping the people beneath its feet, and punching the ground. To confront this problem, Dozla jumped on the Golem's right foot and held on, then started to attack the foot every time it stomped. Once he made enough damage, the last stomp it made with its right foot destroyed it, which caused the Golem to collapse. Dozla, Ross, Rizo, Gerik and Simon all dashed out of the way. With it unable to move, all of the magic users, and Nefertiti did a combined magic attack and aimed it at the Golem's head. The blast was big and great enough to destroy it's head, just destroying the Golem.

"Noooooo," cried a Dire Wolfman. "Our Golem has been destroyed!" Ephraim then charged for him and said, "You're next!" He then stabbed the monster, killing him. Once all the monsters were taken care of, they all turned to purple dust, including the Golem, which it turned into a mountain of. "They're starting to get stronger on us," Eirika said. "I don't know how much longer we can hold out." Ephraim replied, "Not too mention smarter. Don't want to give a guy like Mikel credit, but that Golem was genius. It was durable enough to be a real threat. I just hope we don't have to fight an army of them."

After that, everyone headed to where Richard was healing Amelia while Tana and Tethys stood by. "How is she," asked a worried Franz, and Richard replied, "Better, but she'll still be weak for a while. I can heal the physical damage, but the fatigue will need to take time. Let's just give her rest." "But we need to leave for Rausten as soon as possible. Do you think it'll be okay if she rest in the caravan," said Ephraim and Richard responded, "I suppose so, but one of you will need to carry her." Gerik stepped up and said, "I'll do it." The rather large Hero then bent down and carefully picked Amelia up, and carried her off.

However, unknown to the group, a Lizard Demon that managed to live was watching them and said quietly, "I'll make them pay for what they did to our Golem. They will not ssssssurvive." As the monster charged for them, but before it could get there, three kunai knives hit the Lizard Demon in the back. The others turned to see what had happened as the monster fell down dead and turned to dust. Just then, from behind the monster, they saw a female Assassin. She wore a pink ninja outfit that sort of resembled a cherry blossom dancer's outfit, along with black knee high socks that exposed her heels and front part of her feet and pink shin guards, black fingerless gloves and a black mask covering her mouth. She had dark brown hair with back of it done in a butterfly style. Nemo and Alice knew who it was once they saw her.

"Keena," Nemo said as he and Alice rushed up to meet her, followed by the others. Keena then spoke to Nemo saying, "It's good to see you are well, Prince Nemo." Nemo put on solemn look as Ephraim asked him, "You're a prince, Nemo," and he replied, "Yes, but explanations will have to wait until we get to Rausten. Keena, is that why you're here? Are you to escort us to Rausten?" "Yes," Keena replied. "Your brother, Prince Otarus, requested I find you out in hopes that you met with Princess L'arachel. Please, make sure you have everything ready so we can begin."

"A pegasus knight is coming back with some items from Jehanna Hall. We'll need to wait until she comes back," said Nemo and Keena replied, "Very well, but we do need to leave soon, your majesty. Make sure she shows up." Suddenly, the others turned to L'arachel and Eirika asked her, "L'arachel, do you know anything about this?" "Yes, but like Prince Nemo said, we'll need to wait until we get to Rausten. You'll hear everything from us there," replied L'arachel. Even Dozla gave L'arachel a look as if he too was in the dark, and he said to himself in thought, _"Just what kind of secret have you been forced to keep from us, my fair princess?"_

Just then, a voice called from the sky saying, "Prince Joshua!" Joshua heard this and saw it was the pegasus knight he sent to Jehanna Hall. Once the knight landed, Joshua said to her, "Glad you made it time. We were about to leave. Did you get them?" "Yes," the pegasus knight said, "I brought them both with with me: the Sacred Twin Ice Blade, Audhulma, and the Sacred Twin Wind Tome, Excalibur. I even bought the items you requested, as well as taking the liberty to buy some more weapons." Joshua then said, "Good. We'll definitely need them. Alright, time to hand out some promotion items. For Samantha, I give you a Knight Crest." "Thank you," Samantha said politely and Joshua continued to say, "For Trip, we have a Hero Crest," to which Trip said, "Oh wow, thank you, Prince Joshua!" After that, Joshua said, "And for Richard and Nemo, a couple of Guiding Rings." "Dear me, thank you," said Richard as he felt the ring in his hand. "I can definitely feel it's power." Nemo said after him, "I don't find myself worthy of such a thing, but thank you anyway. I won't squander it."

"Alright, with all this out of the way, it's time to go. We need to reach Rausten as soon as possible," said Ephraim, and Keena responded, "Yes, let's be on our way."

Back at the old mansion, Chester, Ingrid and Emanuel were in the main lobby talking. "No, it can't be true," said Emanuel is tone of disbelief and Chester replied, "I'm sorry, but it's true. Damon and Phyllis are dead, and Molly has turned traitor. This information was straight from Victoria." "I'm saddened by this, as well, Emanuel," said Ingrid. "But as the remaining members of the Elite Six, we have to do what we must, now. We must stand strong, and work our way through this." Emanuel then said, "No, something has been terribly wrong. I thought we coming to cleanse Magvel of evil and restore Serris' glory, but now, with these new events occuring, nothing seems to make sense anymore. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another." "Emanuel," Ingrid called out to the angry Swordmaster who stormed off. "Come back here!" Chester said, "Let him go, Ingrid. He's obviously feeling a lot of pain from this, as we all are." Ingrid replied, "You're right, but still, we're coming unraveled at the seams. There's no telling how much longer before we come apart." "Yes, and no telling who truly causing it," remarked Chester.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 19.


	20. Chapter 19: Secrets Revealed

**Chapter 19: Secrets Revealed**

After dealing with the terrible creature known as the Golem, the Twins' forces left Durbin and crossed the Narube River. This place brought back memories to Eirika and Ephraim as it was the first place they had to fight Lyon. Thankfully, this time, their voyage across the river was unhindered. After a day or two, they finally found themselves in Rausten.

After learning about Nemo's peerage as royalty, everyone was curious to meet his older brother, as well as learning what part L'arachel had to play in this, for it's a secret not even her most trusted vassal, Dozla knows.

The group entered Rausten Court where Pontifex Mansel was there to welcome them. "Greetings to all of you," said Mansel with a warm smile. "It's so good you were all able to make it. Especially you, my darling niece. You must tell about all you've been through."

L'arachel responded, "Yes, it definitely was a journey of hardship and trial, but the light of righteousness carried us forward."

To that, Mansel said, "Always great to hear. Oh yes, there's also a guest here to see you."

"Ooh, I believe I know who it is. Please, bring him to me," said L'arachel.

After that, a voice called out saying, "There's no need. I'll be coming to you."

Just then a Hero appeared while being followed by a Sniper, a Halberdier and a General. The Hero wore gunmetal armor with gold trim and a gold eagle on the chestplate, a dark red shirt with black and silver trim, white pants and black boots and a gunmetal cape with gold designs on it. His magenta hair was very well-groomed and his handsome face could definitely rival Ephraim's and Innes'.

The Hero then stepped forward to L'arachel and said, "Welcome home, my dear." "Hello, Prince Otarus. It's certainly been a long time since we met. I'm glad we could see each other again," said L'arachel

Otarus replied back to her, "I've definitely dreamed of the day we could finally meet again, my fair lady of pure radiance."

"Ooh, you smooth talker, you," giggled L'arachel.

This puppy love talk made Rennac make a gag sound.

Nemo then stepped forward, and said, "Hello again, brother. As you see, I've made it back."

"And so you have, dear brother," said Otarus. "I clearly should have had more faith in you. You do seem to have grown stronger since your time away from me."

"Thank you," remarked Nemo. "But you'll always be the better fighter between the two of us."

Otarus said to that, "Maybe on the surface, but between the two of us, you have the stronger heart. You always have."

Eprhaim then stepped to say, "So, you're Prince Otarus? I guess it's good we finally meet, but where do you hail from?"

Otarus then said, "Ah yes, according to our intelligence, you must be Prince Ephraim. It's good to meet you, at last, as well as you, Princess Eirika. Believe or not, I hail from the continent of Serris."

Everyone became startled by this reveal, and Innes walked up to say, "You and Nemo are the princes of Serris? It's about time we came face to face. Do you know your dogs have been attacking us for some holy crusade, despite the fact we haven't done anything to deserve it?"

"Yes, I know about the suffering you've all been through, both with the Demon King and now this," said Otarus. "For that, I want to apologize dearly on the behalf of our people. However, I have no control over the military. The imperial army and Elite Six are loyal to my father, King Lorevix."

Eirika turned to Molly and said, "Is this true, Molly?"

Molly answered, "Yes, I'm afraid so. Though we do fight to see the future rulers grow up and take their rightful place, we serve the current king only. But, it goes deeper than that, I'm afraid."

"So, it's true. You do live, Molly of the Guiding Light," said Otarus.

Molly said, "Yes, through means I don't understand myself."

Ephraim then said, "Prince Otarus, what does Molly mean by 'it goes deeper than that?'"

"Well for starters," Otarus started to talk. "While the imperial army is loyal to my father, they're mainly controlled by the senate. Only they get to decide whether the army is sent to fight or not. While the king may declare an act of war, it has to go through the senate to get a popular vote."

"That's all very interesting to hear, but I hope we didn't come here to discuss politics," said Innes. "We need to know, though, whether or not the soldiers that attacked your continent were Magvelian soldiers or not. According to Molly, they were."

Otarus then sighed and said, "I won't lie to you; yes, they were Magvelian. However, my personal network of spies, thanks mostly in part to Keena, has found some disturbing information."

Eirika asked, "What would that be."

Otarus went silent for a moment, then said, "It seems... my father allowed for the invasion of Serris to happen."

Everyone became startled by this, and L'arachel said, "That's not possible. Your own father allowed his continent to be invaded?"

"Did you also know this, Nemo," asked Ephraim.

Nemo answered, "Yes. While the spies serve Otarus, he also lets them fill me in. And yes, I knew about our father's act of treachery. We've tried to tell the senate, but they won't listen to us since we're still not in throne just yet. The poison that was used to contaminate the drinking waters came from the castle vaults, conjured up by his personal potion makers. The ingredients he used were unknown to us. The gates that allow entrance and exit can only be opened by the Serrisian guard, and it seems our father allowed it to happen."

"That's horrible," said Tana. "But what does he hope to gain out of letting his own homeland be invaded?"

Otarus then said, "That's what we're all trying to figure out. However, we can say that our father has had a deep interest with your homeland. Why that is, we can't say."

Innes then asked Ephraim, "Ephraim, you don't think the King of Serris has sided with Mikel, do you?"

"If he allowed the attack to happen to his own continent, and the Magvelian soldiers were resurrected though the same means as the Elite Six and their soldiers," said Ephraim. "Then there can be no mistake about it. He must have aligned himself with Mikel."

Otarus then said, "Yes, this does seem most troublesome. Of course, I hope my spy among you has been able to gather as much intel on this Mikel person."

"A spy among us," asked Eirika.

Tana followed up with saying, "Who?'

Otarus just smiled and said, "Rizo, what have you been able to learn about this person named Mikel, and just why our father is so interested in Magvel."

Everyone got shocked by what they just heard as Rizo stepped forward and said, "More than I wanted to learn, my prince, narf narf. It seems Magvel at the time became for the epicenter for the practice of the science known as Alchemy, and that Mikel is one of the few remaining people who knows how to do it, nearf. We believe he's also been creating these things called Dark Stones. According to what happened to Molly and the other members of the imperial army, nurf, we believe these Dark Stones might be what's resurrected them, though that's just a guess I reached by myself."

Otarus replied, "Very good, Rizo. And if your guess is right, we may already be closer to solving the puzzle as to what my father plans to do. Intel has also told me that the legions of monsters he commands are very powerful, and that your struggles against them have been great."

"Well, if anything, narrf," Rizo continued to say. "We've all managed to survive by working together, nerf."

Eirika stepped up to say, "Rizo has been a great fighter, but I had no idea he was also a spy working for you."

"Well, Rizo is actually privateer in service to me and my brother, but he volunteered for spy work when I told him that it looked like our father betrayed our continent, thus creating the whole calamity. But since you've met Rizo, as well as my vassal and other spy, Keena, let me introduce my other vassals to you," said Otarus. "First up is Xander, one of the former members of the Elite Six, once known as the Piercing Lance, and the man who's looked after us since Nemo and I were little."

The Halberdier stepped up to say has he bowed, "Well met, all of you." He had on dark gray armor, black clothes and his hair was black with a long, thin ponytail while having a small tuft of black hair stick out in the front. And he wore an eyepatch that covered his left eye, and a black pencil thin mustache.

Otarus then spoke again, "Next is Hunter, who has been my best friend for many ages, and is a great knight."

The General stepped up and said while bowing, "A pleasure to meet you all." He had cyan hair that kind of poofed in the front, he wore dark, navy blue armor and black clothing. He was almost as good-looking in the face as Otarus was.

"And finally," Otarus said. "We have Jennifer, another friend of mine and has a close knit relationship to my brother."

The Sniper then came up and bowed as she said, "I hope we can all be good friends, ourselves, as well as strong allies." She had golden brown hair that was fixed very nicely, her face was very soft and beautiful and had elegant markings on her cheeks and forehead. She wore a sea green dress with silver trim, a matching cape and white boots.

"And of course, you've all met Keena," said Otarus.

Keena stepped out in front of everyone and bowed.

Mansel then came up and said, "Well, we'll have plenty more time to discuss these matters. Right now, though, I'm sure everyone wants to rest after such an eventful journey. My servants will get rooms prepared for everyone."

"Thank you, Lord Mansel," said Ephraim.

Afterwards, when everyone was getting settled down, L'arachel approached Dozla and Rennac, and said, "Dozla, Rennac, I want to apologize for keeping such a secret from you. But, I'm afraid I had to."

"Gwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," boasted Dozla. "It's okay, my princess! You had your reasons, and we can respect that. Right, Rennac?"

"Are you kidding me," replied a disgruntled Rennac. "It's definitely not okay with me! You mean to tell me you knew the whole time that those people we saw in Darkling Woods were Serrisian? That would have saved us a lot of trouble if you just told us the truth!"

L'arachel said to him, "I know, I should have told you both, but it had to remain a secret, especially my relationship with Prince Otarus. I didn't want people to think I was fraternizing with the enemy. Let's just say that politics make for strange bed fellows and leave it there."

Rennac's only reply was, "Feh."

Meanwhile, Amelia was trying to move around after resting. She had her armor off, so it would be easier for her to move around. Even after she had been healed by Richard, her body still felt weak from the Golem's attack.

Just then, Franz, who was out walking as well, saw Amelia and said to her, "Amelia, do you think you should be walking?"

"I've got to try, Franz," Amelia said. "I know I should be resting, but I can't lie down forever. Walking will also help get my strength back up."

Franz said, "I know, but I just want you to be careful. I know you're still weak from that attack you received."

"I am," Amelia responded. "But I think my strength is coming back, so it shouldn't be much longer before I'm back to 100%."

Franz smiled as he then went up and hugged Amelia, "I was really worried after you got hurt like that. I really love you, Amelia, and I can't stand the thought of losing you so soon."

Amelia hugged him back, and said, "I love you, too, Franz. I want you to be careful, as well. You remember that time when I promise to be your shield and you would be my sword?"

"Of course, I remember," Franz answered. "That was a very special moment for us. One that truly confirmed our feelings for one another."

Amelia then said, "Let's continue to fight together like that, as both Knights of Renais, and boyfriend and girlfriend. That way, it'll be a combination of both our skill as knights and our love as, well... lovers that will keep each other safe, and our enemies at bay."

Franz replied to that, "Yeah, an idea as wonderful as you."

After that, the continued to look into each other eyes before they brought their own lips to the others, and kissed. Just then, they heard someone going, "Oooh, what do we have here?" This forced the two of them to break off their kiss immediately. They then looked to see Forde and Kyle standing a small distance behind Franz.

"Brother," said Franz and Amelia followed with, "Sir Forde! Sir Kyle!"

"Seems like I caught you two in a naughty moment, didn't I," asked Forde with a sly grin, which just made both Franz and Amelia turn bright red with embarrassment.

Kyle put on an irritated look and said to Forde, "Didn't you pull something like this with Prince Ephraim and Princess Tana? Just knock it off, and give them privacy."

Forde turned to Kyle and replied, "But, come on, isn't it so cute of them to be this way? Besides, it's kind of hard to have a private moment in the middle of the hallway," followed by a chuckle.

Kyle just crossed him arms and grunted as he turned his head away from Forde, knowing that he was right on both parts.

Amelia said to Franz, "I guess I'll go on. Hopefully, we'll have a real private moment some other time."

Franz replied, "Yeah. I'll see you around." "See you around, as well," replied Amelia as she walked off. Franz also walked off.

Forde sighed, then said to Kyle, "Ah, love. I can't believe my younger brother found it before I did. Regardless, I am happy for him, if not a little jealous. Certainly, you must be feeling the same way."

"I won't deny that I'd like to find a soul mate," said Kyle. "Right now, though, we should back to our active watch."

Forde sighed again, and said in a smart alec tone, "Aye aye, acting commander!" After that, the two of them continued their rounds.

On of Rausten Court's balconies, Ephraim and Tana were overlooking the garden, which was filled with several fireflies.

"Isn't it lovely out here," asked Ephraim. "Rausten's definitely got gardens that rival those at Castle Renais."

Tana replied, "Yeah, and especially those of Castle Frelia. It's so beautiful and serene out here."

Just then, a voice called out saying, "Did someone say my name?"

Ephraim and Tana spun around to see Syrene coming towards them. This made Tana yell, "Syrene! It's you!" Tana then ran up and hugged Syrene, and continued on to say, "Oh, how I missed you. I heard you were here in Rausten, but I never knew it would feel this good to see you again."

"I've missed you, as well, my princess," said Syrene as she hugged her back. "I'm sorry I couldn't be in the throne room to meet you all, but I tend to my pegasus. You know how much more fickle and needy they can be compared to the common horse."

Tana shook her head and said, "I don't care, it's great that you're still here with us."

Ephraim then came up to say, "Good to see you, as well, Commander Syrene," and Syrene responded, "Well met, Prince Ephraim. I trust you've been good around Princess Tana?"

"You've no need to worry, Syrene," said Tana. "Ephraim has been more than gentlemanly around me. Besides, you should go see Gilliam. He was almost killed a few days ago by a Bolting spell."

"Oh dear," replied Syrene. "I guess I should go and see him. It wouldn't be bad to also see about Prince Innes and my sister."

Ephraim then said, "Let's go see them," and Syrene replied, "Yes, let us."

After a while, Syrene, along with Ephraim and Tana, came to the other Frelians, and began to talk with them. Vanessa hugged Syrene tightly and said, "It's great to see you again, dear sister."

"It sure is," Innes replied. "Course, none of us had our doubts that you would be okay, since are one of Frelia's finest pegasus knights."

Moulder came up to say, "Glad to see you're doing well, Syrene. It is truly a blessing we could meet again."

After that, Gilliam cam up to say, "Syrene... it's been a while. You look great."

"Gilliam..." Syrene replied solemnly. "Princess Tana told me you almost died. Are you feeling better now?"

Gilliam nodded and responded, "Yes, especially now that you're here."

"Oh, Gilliam," Syrene said as if she was about to cry, and she ran up to hug Gilliam, which made Gilliam hug her back. Syrene then said, "I never want to be separated from you again, especially after what you suffered from. When we get back, we're going to have a glorious wedding. We'll get through this, and we'll always be together. Doesn't that sound great?"

Gilliam hummed a confirmation and said, "I would like that. I'll make sure we get through this, so we can have that wedding."

Clark then came up and said, "You two are definitely the perfect couple," and Syrene replied as she looked in Clark's direction, "Thank you, Clark. And it's great we can have everyone's support."

Everyone that was in the room smiled as they were happy for Syrene and Gilliam's good fortune, but suddenly, a female Paladin with black hair, dark purple armor, black clothes and a purple tiara with wings on the sides of the back came in saying, "Everyone, it's an emergency!"

"Lady Brunhilda," said Syrene as she knew her. "What's the trouble? Is it an enemy attack?"

"Monsters," replied Brunhilda. "We don't know how they got past the guards, but it's like they walked out of the shadows. They're attacking the court from the rear. I need to find Princess L'arachel and warn her of the danger."

"Will that madman, Mikel ever stop," asked a frustrated Ephraim. "Fine, we'll get the others and meet the enemy out back of Rausten Court. We'd also better get Ivaldi and Latona. We've managed to get Jehanna's Sacred Twins, so we'll definitely need to get Rausten's."

Innes replied, "Good idea. We'll definitely need the advantage in battle. Go warn the others, and get those Sacred Twins."

"I'm on it," Brunhilda responded.

Out back of Rausten Court, where a gigantic army of monsters that included several varieties awaited the Twins' battalion, Mikel was talking to Farnothion. "Alright, you know the plan, don't you," asked Mikel.

"Yes," Farnothion replied. "I lead this distraction force while you lead another army out front to deal with Rausten's own soldiers that will protect Mansel."

Mikel nodded and said, "Very good. And, of course, you have 'him' to back you up if things get too hairy for you."

"Yes, he will prove most beneficial to us," said Farnothion. "But still, do we really need Mansel for your plans? I'm sorry to question you, Master Mikel, but I'm still confused as to what your overall goal is."

Mikel then said, "The questioning is getting irritating, Farnothion. Right now, everything is going according to plan, even if the Twins and their friends have shown great prowess. If you still don't understand everything, that's because you still have much to learn from me, my student. Just stick to the plan, and if you survive, everything will be better understood."

Mikel then teleported out, and Farnothion said, "Hrmph! You've certainly been secretive about how you want bring this new world to life, but if I make it back to see this take place, I do want a piece of it."

After that, he said to all the monsters under his command, "Okay, you heard the master! I am to lead you all! While we may just be a decoy, I want you all to show no mercy, regardless of that fact! Now, get into positions, and wait for the enemy to advance!"

The monsters did what Farnothion told them. After that was done, the Twins and their troupe came out to see the enemies they had to deal with.

"Wow," exclaimed Eirika. "They must be desperate if they're bringing out this big of a force to attack Rausten Court."

Otarus came up and said, "You won't go this alone. My vassals and I will help all you drive back their force," and Ephraim replied, "We're glad to have your help, Prince Otarus."

Just then, Brunhilda came out and said, "Princess L'arachel, I've got the Sacred Twins of Rausten with me."

"Ah, the Sacred Twin Light Tome, Ivaldi, and the Sacred Twin Staff, Latona," L'arachel said. "These will help greatly. Thank you, Brunhilda."

Brunhilda then said, "If you would also have my sword for this battle, I would like to join you," and L'arachel replied. "Yes, we would be most honored to have you fight for us."

After Brunhilda took her position in the troupe, L'arachel called out, "Artur," to which replied. "What is it, Princess L'arachel?"

"You seem to have the most skill with light magic among us, so I'm giving you Ivaldi, since you did so well with it during our fight with the Demon King. But, use it only when you have to, okay," said L'arachel.

Artur replied, "Thank you, princess. I will not misuse it's great power."

After all that, Ephraim shouted, "Alright, it's time to attack! Drive these louts out of here!" And with that, everyone rushed to meet the opposition.

Colm, Joshua, Marisa and Keena went to deal with a few Wolfmen and Dire Wolfmen while Ross, Simon, Gerik and Rizo dealt with some Minotaurs and Maulotaurs.

Eirika, Amelia, Otarus and Hunter dealt with the oncoming Lizardmen and Lizard Demons. Tana, Vanessa, Syrene, Jules and Alice took the fight to the Harpies and Sirens while Innes, Vash, Neimi, Jennifer and Trip, who had promoted to Ranger, were shooting down Griffins and Wild Griffins, as well as dealing with the Lizard Archers and Komodo Archers.

Fighting the Ghost Knights and Wraith Knights were Ephraim, Franz, Forde, Brunhilda. Clark, Xander and Samantha, who had promoted to Halberdier, were fighting the Giant Snakes and Basilisks, while Duessel, Gilliam and Kyle were fighting the Ogres and Trolls.

Dozla and L'arachel went together to fight the Manticores and a new type of creature called a Chimera. Dozla used his strength to fight them head on while L'arachel backed him up with her magic attacks.

Lute, Sky, Madison, Saleh, Knoll and Ewan were fighting off the Skull Wizards and Death Wizards, while fighting the Succubi and Night Queens were Artur, Moulder, Natasha and Nemo, who had promoted to Bishop. And though Richard had also promoted to Bishop, he still stood by for healing.

While everyone was doing all the fighting, Rennac and Clover decided to go around and pilfer some treasures. And just in time, because some enemy Thieves were making their way in. Clover got a Physic staff, a Brave Sword and an Ocean Seal, while Rennac got 6000 gold, a Silver Axe and a Talisman. Clover also managed to steal a thing of Speedwings from a Maulotaur.

As more reinforcements were making their way in, so did a Wyvern Lord, which turned out to be Cormag as he appeared next to Farnothion. He was wearing blue-violet armor and clothes, his eyes were glowing with an evil purple and his wyvern looked more demonic.

"You know what to do, servant," said Farnothion and Cormag replied, "Yes, Master Farnothion. I am to dispose of the Twins of Renais and their company."

Farnothion responded, "Good. Do this, and my master will grant you even more power. I know you're looking forward to it. Now go, and do us proud."

"As you say, Master Farnothion," said Cormag before he readied his lance and he took off to the skies.

Farnothion chuckled to himself and said, "Let's see how they'll be able to handle trying to fight one of their former friends.

After the three Falcoknights did a triangle attack on a Siren and killed it, they heard someone yelling and turned to see it was Cormag charging at them. All three dodged out of the way of Cormag's attack. Tana was shocked to see who attacked them.

"Cormag," said Tana in her surprise. "Is that you? Why did you try to attack us just a while ago?"

Cormag just growled with a killer intent, which made Vanessa say, "Somehow, princess, I don't think he recognizes us."

"No," shouted Tana. "Cormag can't be tainted by that same dark power like the others! He's too good for that!"

After that, Cormag made another attempt to try and hit Tana, but it was blocked by Syrene's lance. Though she did her best to hold him at bay, Cormag's body surged with dark energy and he effortlessly threw Syrene back.

"Sister, are you okay," Vanessa shouted and Syrene said, "Yes, I'm fine. But his power is absurd. It's definitely unnatural."

"I'll take him," Vanessa said as she armed her lance. She then rushed for him, trying to make a hit, but he parried every attack of her. Finally, after having enough of Vanessa, Cormag made his wyvern do a spinning tail attack. Seeing this, Vanessa's pegasus, Titania, bucked up to absorb the blow, which made her reel in pain. Vanessa forced a retreat after that.

"Titania," Vanessa said. "Why did you do that? I could have taken it."

Cormag then rushed again for Tana, this time, tossing aside his lance and arming himself with his axe. Unable to get her sword in time, Tana was forced to shield herself with her lance.

But, as hard she tried to block his blows, Cormag eventually broke her lance and then tried to make several axe swipes at her, which kept her from equipping her sword.

After a final axe swipe from Cormag, Tana dodged it time, but she went so far back, she eventually fell from her pegasus and began to scream as she was plummeting towards the earth.

"Princess," yelled both Syrene and Vanessa as they tried to get to Tana, but Cormag just got in their way.

Hearing her scream, Ephraim saw Tana falling and he tossed his lance aside as ran to catch her, and he managed to do so. Once Tana was caught, she began to breathe heavily before she wrapped her arms around Ephraim's neck and cried into his chest.

"There, there," said Ephraim patting her on the back with a smile. "I've caught you, so you're safe."

Tana replied, "It's not that. It's Cormag! Something's wrong with him," and Ephraim said in a shocked tone, "Cormag! He's here?"

After that, Ephraim could here Syrene and Vanessa scream as they too were plummeting just like Tana was. Ephraim saw them, then called out to Forde and Kyle saying, "Forde! Kyle! Hurry and catch them!"

Seeing this, the Paladin and Great Knight rushed in and caught the two Falcoknights in time, with Kyle catching Syrene and Forde catching Vanessa.

"Looks like it's raining pegasus knights," Forde said in a joking manner, and Vanessa replied, "No time to kid around! I think he's coming!"

Everyone then looked to see Cormag and his wyvern coming towards the ground. "It is Cormag," said a startled Ephraim. "Did he attack the three of you, Tana?"

"Yes," Tana replied while still crying. "He's not normal! I think he's been tainted!"

Cormag then raised his axe high above his head and was getting ready to charge. As he did though, Duessel rushed in, armed with his sword, and blocked Cormag's axe strike.

"Cormag," Duessel said. "Stop this! These are your friends! Why are you attacking them! I thought you were one of those White Knights we saw you with!"

Duessel threw Cormag's axe back, but the possessed Wyvern Lord was readying another strike. Just then, Tana called out to him again, shouting, "Cormag, stop this, now! This isn't you!"

"I must do this," Cormag shouted back. "I must destroy all of you! Only then will I be given greater power by my master!"

Ephraim then said to Tana, "It's no use. Cormag isn't the same person, anymore."

"No! He's still in there! The person speaking right now isn't Cormag! I just know I can reach him," Tana yelled as she continued to believe there was still hope.

Tana then jumped out of Ephraim's arms and started to run towards Cormag, which made Ephraim shout at her, "Tana, are you crazy! He'll kill you!"

"Don't do it, princess," shouted Vanessa and Syrene backed her up saying, "We're not going to lose you like this," as they each jumped out of their respective rescuer's arms and started to run after Tana, but Duessel stopped them.

"No," Duessel said to the two Falcoknights. "We have to let her try. I too believe Cormag is still in there. Don't worry, if things awry, I'll do what must be done."

Syrene said, "I just hope she can reach him."

Tana then came in front of Cormag and his wyvern, and said, "Cormag, can you hear me! It's me, Tana, we were friends! All of us were your friends! You don't want to hurt or kill any of us! I know you can be dangerous, but you're not a monster! Please! Fight the taint! Fight the evil! Do it for us! But most of all, do it for yourself!"

Cormag just growled as he was about to strike Tana with his axe, which made Tana close her eyes tightly. Duessel was readying his sword as to prepare to slay his friend. But, just then, Cormag's axe stopped short of Tana's shoulder. As Tana opened her eyes, and everyone who was there was looking, Cormag was struggling.

"Ta... na..." Cormag struggled to say. After that, Cormag grabbed the sides of his head and started to writhe in pain as dark energy surged through his body trying to control him, but having a hard time doing so.

"Well, would you look at that," Forde said and Ephraim replied, "Yeah, he's fighting it. I think Tana is getting through to him."

As Cormag continued to struggle and fight the control he was under, Tana kept on talking to him saying, "Yes, that's it! Fight it! Come back to us all, Cormag! CORMAG!"

Just then, the scene switches to a dimension of darkness and Cormag is in the middle of it, only he's wearing white armor and clothes and he's asleep. Just then, a voice can be heard calling out to him.

"Cormag," the voice says. "It's time to wake up, now. Time to fight for justice, once again. Wake up, Cormag!"

The voice was familiar to Cormag as he mumbled, "Glen? Is that you, brother?"

Just then, in front of Cormag opened a portal of light, and the silhouette of person could be seen as they were stepping through it. As the person came into view, it turned out to be Glen.

"Cormag," Glen said. "You've slept long enough and allowed the darkness to control your body and mind. You've allowed to lock away your heart. You must not let this taint succeed in consuming you."

Cormag replied as he was struggling to awaken, "But how, brother? I'm so tired, so weak. I can't fight it like this."

"That's because you only think you are," Glen responded. "You are my brother! You are the brother of I, Glen the Sunstone! I will not allow you to give up this easily when you have enough power to fight this! Now, I tell you again... WAKE UP, CORMAG!"

Cormag then opens his eyes, struggling at first but then, he opens them quickly. After that, he sits up and sees Glen in front of him.

"Yes, that's it," Glen said with a smile. "That's the way to do it, brother. Now, come to me and grab my hand. It's time to return to the conscious world."

Cormag said, "Yes, I do believe I'm ready." Cormag then stood up and walked towards Glen. Once he reached him, Glen held out his right hand and Cormag took it with his own. After that, the two were enveloped in a bright light.

Afterwards, back in the real world, the struggling and screaming Cormag was soon enveloped in a bright light that also surrounded his wyvern. Everyone was watching this development happen with great shock and awe. Even the monsters were the same way, though they had a sense of fear about what was happening.

"What's going on," Tana said and Ephraim replied as he came next to her, "I think you just brought Cormag back."

As everyone watched, Cormag's armor and clothes began to change to white and his wyvern was losing it's demonic look. After that, Cormag stopped screaming in pain and let his arms fall down, then he started to breathe heavily.

Tana slowly approached Cormag and asked, "Cormag? Is that you, now?"

Cormag then looked up, with the evil glow in his eyes gone. He then said as he cracked a smile, "Hello, Princess Tana. It's been a while."

Tana smiled brightly and said out loud, "It is you! Cormag, you're back!" She then climbed up on his wyvern and gave Cormag a big hug. The others approached him.

"Welcome back, Cormag," said Duessel as he smiled and Cormag replied, "Great to see you again, General Duessel. Last time we met, it was when I was with the White Knights."

Duessel then responded, "Yes, and I don't know how you got separated from them, but we're glad to have you with us again."

"Hey, Tana," said Ephraim. "I hope you don't plan on hugging him forever."

Tana let go and jumped off of Cormag's wyvern, then she said, "Sorry, just got a little emotional. I haven't forgotten who I'm engaged to."

After Cormag was done smiling to everyone that was glad to see him back, he then turned his head towards the direction he came from and said with a look and tone of great anger, "Farnothion! You vile, little weasel! I'll make you pay for what you did to me! Both you and Mikel."

Cormag was about to rush off to find and kill Farnothion, but before he could, Tana stopped him by grabbing his left hand.

"Princess, don't try to stop me," Cormag said after he looked to see Tana grabbing his hand.

Tana replied, "I'm not," then she let go of his hand and bent down to pick up his axe, giving it to him before she said, "But you are going to need this."

Cormag took his axe back and nodded a "thank you" to Tana, then he rushed off to where Farnothion was. Ephraim then said to everyone, "Alright, people, let's follow him and give our support! We need to back him up by rooting out the rest of the enemy!"

As everyone in Eirika and Ephraim's company went back to fighting, some of the monsters went back to warn Farnothion that Cormag was released from under his control and coming for him, and when he heard this, he panicked.

"No, that can't be," said a frightened Farnothion. "Master Mikel made him to be my servant! To be loyal to me, no matter what! We need to hurry and kill him before he reaches me! Stop that man, at all costs!"

But the scared Druid knew his time was approaching when the Twins' force was breaking through the remaining guard. With the monsters so occupied with the others, they didn't have time to focus on Cormag, who was rushing straight for Farnothion as he could see him directly in his line of sight.

"Farnothion," Cormag yelled at him with hellfire burning in his eyes. "You're mine, you little cockroach! I'll make you pay for making me trying to hurt my friends!"

"Stay away from me," panicked Farnothion more as he then tried to hit him with Fenrir, but was unable to, not only because Cormag dodge it but also because Farnothion's aim was off due to him being so afraid.

Farnothion continued to cast Fenrir after Fenrir, but Cormag dodged the spell every time. Eventually, when Cormag got directly over him, he jumped off his wyvern and hit Farnothion with a fatal axe blow across the chest as he landed. Farnothion dropped his spell book and stumbled back, with blood dripping from his wound.

"No, I can't be beaten like this," Farnothion said as he was dying. "But... even if I die here... we still win." After that, he turned and crumbled into purple dust, leaving only his robes behind.

"Serves you right," Cormag said with a sneer before he spit on Farnothion's remains. He then looked at all the monsters looking at him, and he said to them in a forceful tone, "Tell Mikel that the same thing is going to happen to him if I see him next time!"

After hearing that, what was left of the monsters then decided to retreat, and after seeing that, Eirika said, "For such a big battle, that was a little too easy."

"I don't care," Cormag said. "As long as that man got what he deserved, the battle can end on an easy note or not. Still, I am curious as to what he meant when he said 'we still win.'"

Just then Brunhilda put some thought into it, but then put on a look of panic when she said, "Oh no, I didn't think about it back then, but this might have been just a diversion!"

Everyone became very worried, especially L'arachel who was silent for a moment before she said, "Uncle!"

Dozla then said, "We have to hurry and get back to Rausten Court," and Ephraim replied, "Right! Let's go!" And with that, the entire force headed back for the castle.

Once they busted into the room, they saw the place was filled with dead Rausten soldiers, and in the middle of the room stood Mikel with a group of monsters.

"Mikel," Ephraim, Innes, Joshua and Cormag all yelled in unison when everyone saw him. But as they were rushing towards him, he threw out his left hand and a force caused Ephraim's company to be thrown to the ground. Everyone was struggling and trying to get up, but couldn't manage to for the force was too strong.

"Shhhh..." Mikel said with a wicked smile and said, "He's sleeping," as he turned his head to the right. Everyone then looked to see what Mikel was looking at, which was Mansel being carried by his arms by two Sirens.

"Uncle," L'arachel cried out, but regardless of how loud it was, Mansel didn't respond.

Mikel then said to the Sirens, "Take him away. We got what we came for."

After that, the Sirens nodded to Mikel and flew off with Mansel. L'arachel continued trying to stand up though failing to do so while crying out saying, "UNCLE, NO! Let my uncle go, you monster! I said let him go!"

"Ah, so Rausten's little Airhead isn't so self-centered, afterall," Mikel said as to mock L'arachel. "You do show some compassion and concern towards others. Not that it really matters, though, since you still lost your uncle to me."

Mikel then stood directly in front of the group and said while smiling wickedly, "Well, you all certainly had noble intentions of stopping my decoy force from reaching the castle. Stupid, but noble. Ah, it seems you also carry a couple of traitors that decided to leave me and also wanted to fight the good fight, regardless of the futility."

Mikel was eyeing both Molly and Clover, and Clover said to him, "I never liked working for you in the first place! So consider my betraying you my permanent resignation!"

"You've been using us, as well," said Molly angrily. "You've been having the Elite Six and the imperial army of Serris attack Magvel for no reason!"

"Oh, quite the contrary, my dear Guiding Light," said Mikel. "There has been a reason to it, but unfortunately, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."

Otarus then spoke while struggling to stand, saying, "So, you're Mikel! That means you're the one who convinced my father to allow the attack on Serris to happen. Did you threaten him to do it?"

"Ah yes, Prince Otarus, I presume," said Mikel. "You supposedly have quite the spy network at your disposal. Actually, I didn't have to threaten your father at all. He willingly allowed it to happen, though he and did strike a deal together."

Everyone got shocked by this and Nemo responded, "No, that's impossible!"

"It was quite possible," Mikel replied. "But again, as to why he did it, you wouldn't understand."

"I understand you put a Dark Stone in me," yelled Molly. "As did you with the other Elite Six and imperial army! That's what is keeping us alive, isn't it!"

Mikel said, "Figured it out, didn't you? Yes, I infused you all with Dark Stones to give you greater power. I allowed you all to have free will, though with some of you questioning me, and especially you betraying me, that seems it was mistake. But no matter, I could crush your Dark Stone if I wanted to, but I'll let you fight with your new friends just to give me enjoyment watching you struggle dealing with your inevitable demise."

"What about me," shouted Cormag.

Mikel then replied, "Ah yes, you. I actually wanted to run an experiment with you. Rather than infusing you with a mock Dark Stone like I did with the Elite Six, I instead let you absorb the energy from the original Dark Stone to see how it's influence would affect you, and it proved my tests correct. Though you may no longer be under my control, your contribution has proven most beneficial to my overall goal."

"The original Dark Stone still exists," asked a shocked Knoll. "And those others you created were just mocks?"

"Correct on both parts," replied Mikel. "And both are beneficial pieces to my overall goal. But again, you wouldn't understand, even if I tried to explain it to you."

Ephraim then shouted, "I don't care what your goal is! We're still going to stop you!"

"Yes, yes, I've heard it several times. Seems unlikely though in the position I have you all in, though," smirked Mikel. "Oh, but there is one thing I will explain to you, since it's something I'm sure you're all going to love. Natasha, my old friend, you remember the talk we had back in Renais, right?"

Natasha panicked and Joshua asked her, "You talked with Mikel that night? That's how you knew it was his force that was attacking us."

Natasha was looking more worried as more and more people were giving her suspicious looks.

"Yes, we did talk that night," said Mikel. "But, that's not the big secret. There's an even bigger one that sure to really leave you all completely speechless. It's time, Natasha. You failed to tell them before you got here to Rausten. So now, I must do it for you."

Mikel then held out his hand towards Natasha and he telekinetically lifted her up off the ground and then pulled her towards him.

"What are you doing! Let her go," yelled Joshua and Natasha said panicking to Mikel, "Please, don't do it. I've tried so hard to repent for all my sins. I just wanted a shot at a better life."

Mikel shook his head and replied, "Natasha, penance cannot absolve your sin. It's just there to make you feel better while hiding it. Your sins will always be with you, as will what I'm about to show everyone."

Natasha was still begging for him not to do it, but he continued on as he brought her over to some monsters. He then said to the Maulotaur and Lizard Demon that were close by and said, "Hold her with her back facing everyone."

The two monsters did as they were told and held her by her arms, with the Maulotaur holding her left and the Lizard Demon holding her right.

"What do you plan to show us," Innes said demandingly.

Mikel responded, "Quite simple, future king of Frelia; the truth." Mikel then started to unbutton his coat and said, "Truth be told, the body you see me in is not really my body. Oh sure, I made it to look like I did long ago, but it belonged to someone else before I place my consciousness inside it. However, regardless of how many bodies I jumped into, they were still marked by the same circle every time."

After talking, Mikel finished unbuttoning his coat and when he opened it, he showed a circle on his chest that was made up of two circles, an eye set vertically and various squiggling lines coming from the center.

"That drawing," Lute yelled out as she recognized it. "That's the symbol belonging to the Clan of Truth! You mean to tell me you were one of them? But that would make you more than a thousand years old!"

"And you would be correct," responded Mikel. "Now, it's time for the main reveal."

He then turned to the Lizard Demon and said to him, "Pull her hair over her shoulder," and the monster did just that. Afterwards, Mikel transformed his staff into its scythe form. He then stuck the blade down the back of her dress.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER, MIKEL," Joshua yelled out in a threatening tone, but he continued on, and Joshua yelled again, "NATASHA!"

Natasha, who was now panicking greatly as she was very scared, said, "No, Mikel, please don't do it. Please, don't do it! I'm begging you, don't do it!"

"It's too late, old friend," said Mikel as he pulled his scythe back very slowly, causing Natasha's dress to rip in the back. "Or should I say partner!"

After yelling, Mikel yanked his scythe hard, ripping the upper back of Natasha's dress wide open. Soon, everyone saw that Natasha's bare back was marked with the same drawing as Mike's chest was. As everyone saw this, they were in complete shock.

"She was... one of them," asked Ephraim in a look of dismay and Eirika said after him, "Natasha, who or... what are you?"

Mikel turned his scythe back into a staff then he brought his mouth to Natasha's right ear and whispered to her saying, "Natasha, I think they're curious. Why don't you tell them all the truth, now?"

"Fine," Natasha said quietly. "I was an alchemist, as well."

Mikel whispered again saying, "So they can hear you," and Natasha said a little louder, "I was an alchemist."

"Louder," shouted Mikel.

Natasha then yelled out loud, "I was also an alchemist! I, too, belonged to the Clan of Truth! This body I'm in is also not mine as it belonged to someone else before I... I..."

"Say it," urged Mikel.

Natasha shouted out loud, "Before I stole it! I'm also more than a thousand years old!"

Everyone was even more shocked than before, especially Joshua, though Innes went to having a look of anger and distrust as he said to himself, "I knew it. I knew she was hiding something. I should have went with my gut and had her strip-searched."

Mikel then turned back towards the group and said, "Well, would you look at that, Natasha? Seems everyone is now completely baffled. I told you this would have went better if you just told them before coming here. Now look at all the people that see you for what you really are: a liar."

"Shall we let her go," the Maulotaur asked and Mikel answered, "Yes, you may."

Both monsters let go of her arms and Natasha quickly held up the front of her dress so the whole thing wouldn't fall off her body, and she kneeled down, shuttering to herself.

"Alright, that's enough time wasted," said Mikel to his legion. "It's time we left. We've got what we came for."

The monsters then faced the front exit of Rausten Court and began to walk away. Mikel then kneeled next to Natasha and said to her as he whispered in her ear, "Let's see how well they trust you now that they know the truth about you."

After that, he stood up and walked away with the monsters. As they got far away enough, they all teleported out, and the force that was holding the Twins and their company down released itself, allowing everyone to stand up, though Natasha was still kneeling.

As she turned around to see everyone looking at her in such an astonished manner, tears began to form in her eyes and she cried loudly as she turned her head back around in complete shame.

Joshua's look on his face went from complete shock to expressionless as he then started to walk towards Natasha, and everyone saw him do it, with Ephraim saying quietly, "Joshua."

As he approached her, Joshua stopped. Natasha then turned her head to see Joshua behind her and got really scared when she saw his sword as she was afraid he was going to kill her with it after learning the truth.

After a bit of silence, Joshua sighed and said, "Now I see why you didn't want to wear that dress." He then dropped his sword on the ground, which surprised Natasha. He then bent down and gave a Natasha a kind look before opening his arms and said in a calm tone, "Come here."

Natasha then started to cry more as she pressed her face into Joshua's chest, which then made Joshua hug her as Natasha cried the hardest she ever had in her life. The others still had looks of dismay, but it couldn't deter the moment and suffering that Natasha was going through, if it only made it worse.

To Be Concluded in Chapter 20.


End file.
